Method of cloud based data analytics for use with the hub

ABSTRACT

A method of improving an operational parameter of a surgical system using data analytics is disclosed. The method includes transmitting, from each of a plurality of surgical hubs of the surgical system, operational data of a plurality of surgical instruments communicatively coupled to the plurality of surgical hubs, to a cloud computing system of the surgical system; aggregating, by the cloud computing system, the operational data into aggregate medical resource data; analyzing, by the cloud computing system, the aggregate medical resource data to determine a recommendation to change the operational parameter based on the analyzed aggregate medical resource data, wherein the aggregate medical resource data comprises one or more of usage data, patient derived parameter data, surgical performance data, and surgical outcome data; receiving, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation from the cloud computing system; and displaying, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/773,778, titled METHOD FOR ADAPTIVE CONTROL SCHEMES FOR SURGICAL NETWORK CONTROL AND INTERACTION, filed Nov. 30, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/773,728, titled METHOD FOR SITUATIONAL AWARENESS FOR SURGICAL NETWORK OR SURGICAL NETWORK CONNECTED DEVICE CAPABLE OF ADJUSTING FUNCTION BASED ON A SENSED SITUATION OR USAGE, filed Nov. 30, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/773,741, titled METHOD FOR FACILITY DATA COLLECTION AND INTERPRETATION, filed Nov. 30, 2018, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/773,742, titled METHOD FOR CIRCULAR STAPLER CONTROL ALGORITHM ADJUSTMENT BASED ON SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, filed Nov. 30, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/750,529, titled METHOD FOR OPERATING A POWERED ARTICULATING MULTI-CLIP APPLIER, filed Oct. 25, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/750,539, titled SURGICAL CLIP APPLIER, filed Oct. 25, 2018, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/750,555, titled SURGICAL CLIP APPLIER, filed Oct. 25, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present application also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/729,183, titled CONTROL FOR A SURGICAL NETWORK OR SURGICAL NETWORK CONNECTED DEVICE THAT ADJUSTS ITS FUNCTION BASED ON A SENSED SITUATION OR USAGE, filed Sep. 10, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/729,177, titled AUTOMATED DATA SCALING, ALIGNMENT, AND ORGANIZING BASED ON PREDEFINED PARAMETERS WITHIN A SURGICAL NETWORK BEFORE TRANSMISSION, filed Sep. 10, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/729,176, titled INDIRECT COMMAND AND CONTROL OF A FIRST OPERATING ROOM SYSTEM THROUGH THE USE OF A SECOND OPERATING ROOM SYSTEM WITHIN A STERILE FIELD WHERE THE SECOND OPERATING ROOM SYSTEM HAS PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OPERATING MODES, filed Sep. 10, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/729,185, titled POWERED STAPLING DEVICE THAT IS CAPABLE OF ADJUSTING FORCE, ADVANCEMENT SPEED, AND OVERALL STROKE OF CUTTING MEMBER OF THE DEVICE BASED ON SENSED PARAMETER OF FIRING OR CLAMPING, filed Sep. 10, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/729,184, titled POWERED SURGICAL TOOL WITH A PREDEFINED ADJUSTABLE CONTROL ALGORITHM FOR CONTROLLING AT LEAST ONE END EFFECTOR PARAMETER AND A MEANS FOR LIMITING THE ADJUSTMENT, filed Sep. 10, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/729,182, titled SENSING THE PATIENT POSITION AND CONTACT UTILIZING THE MONO-POLAR RETURN PAD ELECTRODE TO PROVIDE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TO THE HUB, filed Sep. 10, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/729,191, titled SURGICAL NETWORK RECOMMENDATIONS FROM REAL TIME ANALYSIS OF PROCEDURE VARIABLES AGAINST A BASELINE HIGHLIGHTING DIFFERENCES FROM THE OPTIMAL SOLUTION, filed Sep. 10, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/729,195, titled ULTRASONIC ENERGY DEVICE WHICH VARIES PRESSURE APPLIED BY CLAMP ARM TO PROVIDE THRESHOLD CONTROL PRESSURE AT A CUT PROGRESSION LOCATION, filed Sep. 10, 2018, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/729,186, titled WIRELESS PAIRING OF A SURGICAL DEVICE WITH ANOTHER DEVICE WITHIN A STERILE SURGICAL FIELD BASED ON THE USAGE AND SITUATIONAL AWARENESS OF DEVICES, filed Sep. 10, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present application also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/721,995, titled CONTROLLING AN ULTRASONIC SURGICAL INSTRUMENT ACCORDING TO TISSUE LOCATION, filed Aug. 23, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/721,998, titled SITUATIONAL AWARENESS OF ELECTROSURGICAL SYSTEMS, filed Aug. 23, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/721,999, titled INTERRUPTION OF ENERGY DUE TO INADVERTENT CAPACITIVE COUPLING, filed Aug. 23, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/721,994, titled BIPOLAR COMBINATION DEVICE THAT AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTS PRESSURE BASED ON ENERGY MODALITY, filed Aug. 23, 2018, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/721,996, titled RADIO FREQUENCY ENERGY DEVICE FOR DELIVERING COMBINED ELECTRICAL SIGNALS, filed Aug. 23, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present application also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/692,747, titled SMART ACTIVATION OF AN ENERGY DEVICE BY ANOTHER DEVICE, filed on Jun. 30, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/692,748, titled SMART ENERGY ARCHITECTURE, filed on Jun. 30, 2018, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/692,768, titled SMART ENERGY DEVICES, filed on Jun. 30, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present application also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,228, titled METHOD OF USING REINFORCED FLEX CIRCUITS WITH MULTIPLE SENSORS WITH ELECTROSURGICAL DEVICES, filed Jun. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,227, titled CONTROLLING A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT ACCORDING TO SENSED CLOSURE PARAMETERS, filed Jun. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,230, titled SURGICAL INSTRUMENT HAVING A FLEXIBLE ELECTRODE, filed Jun. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,219, titled SURGICAL EVACUATION SENSING AND MOTOR CONTROL, filed Jun. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,257, titled COMMUNICATION OF SMOKE EVACUATION SYSTEM PARAMETERS TO HUB OR CLOUD IN SMOKE EVACUATION MODULE FOR INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Jun. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,262, titled SURGICAL EVACUATION SYSTEM WITH A COMMUNICATION CIRCUIT FOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN A FILTER AND A SMOKE EVACUATION DEVICE, filed Jun. 28, 2018, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/691,251, titled DUAL IN-SERIES LARGE AND SMALL DROPLET FILTERS, filed Jun. 28, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/665,129, titled SURGICAL SUTURING SYSTEMS, filed May 1, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/665,139, titled SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS COMPRISING CONTROL SYSTEMS, filed May 1, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/665,177, titled SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS COMPRISING HANDLE ARRANGEMENTS, filed May 1, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/665,128, titled MODULAR SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS, filed May 1, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/665,192, titled SURGICAL DISSECTORS, filed May 1, 2018, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/665,134, titled SURGICAL CLIP APPLIER, filed May 1, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present application also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/659,900, titled METHOD OF HUB COMMUNICATION, filed on Apr. 19, 2018, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The present application also claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,898, filed on Mar. 30, 2018, titled CAPACITIVE COUPLED RETURN PATH PAD WITH SEPARABLE ARRAY ELEMENTS, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,887, titled SURGICAL SYSTEMS WITH OPTIMIZED SENSING CAPABILITIES, filed Mar. 30, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,882, titled SMOKE EVACUATION MODULE FOR INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Mar. 30, 2018, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/650,877, titled SURGICAL SMOKE EVACUATION SENSING AND CONTROLS, filed Mar. 30, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

This application also claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,302, titled INTERACTIVE SURGICAL SYSTEMS WITH ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION CAPABILITIES, filed Mar. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,294, titled DATA STRIPPING METHOD TO INTERROGATE PATIENT RECORDS AND CREATE ANONYMIZED RECORD, filed Mar. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,300, titled SURGICAL HUB SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, filed Mar. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,309, titled SURGICAL HUB SPATIAL AWARENESS TO DETERMINE DEVICES IN OPERATING THEATER, filed Mar. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,310, titled COMPUTER IMPLEMENTED INTERACTIVE SURGICAL SYSTEMS, filed Mar. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,291, titled USE OF LASER LIGHT AND RED-GREEN-BLUE COLORATION TO DETERMINE PROPERTIES OF BACK SCATTERED LIGHT, filed Mar. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,296, titled ADAPTIVE CONTROL PROGRAM UPDATES FOR SURGICAL DEVICES, filed Mar. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,333, titled CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS FOR CUSTOMIZATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO A USER, filed Mar. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,327, titled CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS FOR SECURITY AND AUTHENTICATION TRENDS AND REACTIVE MEASURES, filed Mar. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,315, titled DATA HANDLING AND PRIORITIZATION IN A CLOUD ANALYTICS NETWORK, filed Mar. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,313, titled CLOUD INTERFACE FOR COUPLED SURGICAL DEVICES, filed Mar. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,320, titled DRIVE ARRANGEMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS, filed Mar. 28, 2018, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,307, titled AUTOMATIC TOOL ADJUSTMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS, filed Mar. 28, 2018, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/649,323, titled SENSING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS, filed Mar. 28, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

This application also claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,341, titled INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Dec. 28, 2017, to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,340, titled CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS, filed Dec. 28, 2017, and to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/611,339, titled ROBOT ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Dec. 28, 2017, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to various surgical systems. Surgical procedures are typically performed in surgical operating theaters or rooms in a healthcare facility such as, for example, a hospital. A sterile field is typically created around the patient. The sterile field may include the scrubbed team members, who are properly attired, and all furniture and fixtures in the area. Various surgical devices and systems are utilized in performance of a surgical procedure.

Furthermore, in the Digital and Information Age, medical systems and facilities are often slower to implement systems or procedures utilizing newer and improved technologies due to patient safety and a general desire for maintaining traditional practices. However, often times medical systems and facilities may lack communication and shared knowledge with other neighboring or similarly situated facilities as a result. To improve patient practices, it would be desirable to find ways to help interconnect medical systems and facilities better.

SUMMARY

In one aspect the present disclosure provides a method of improving an operational parameter of a surgical system using data analytics. The method comprising: transmitting, from each of a plurality of surgical hubs of the surgical system, operational data of a plurality of surgical instruments communicatively coupled to the plurality of surgical hubs, to a cloud computing system of the surgical system; aggregating, by the cloud computing system, the operational data into aggregate medical resource data; analyzing, by the cloud computing system, the aggregate medical resource data to determine a recommendation to change the operational parameter based on the analyzed aggregate medical resource data, wherein the aggregate medical resource data comprises one or more of usage data, patient derived parameter data, surgical performance data, and surgical outcome data; receiving, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation from the cloud computing system; and displaying, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation.

In another aspect the present disclosure provides a method of controlling a surgical system using data analytics. The method comprising: transmitting, from each of a plurality of surgical hubs of the surgical system, operational data of a plurality of surgical instruments communicatively coupled to the plurality of surgical hubs to a cloud computing system of the surgical system; aggregating, by the cloud computing system, the operational data into aggregate medical resource data; analyzing, by the cloud computing system, the aggregate medical resource data, wherein the aggregate medical resource data comprises one or more of usage data, patient derived parameter data, surgical performance data, and surgical outcome data; generating, by the cloud computing system, an update to a control program executed by one or more of the plurality of surgical hubs and the plurality of surgical instruments based on the analyzed aggregated medical resource data; and receiving, by one or more of the plurality of surgical hubs and the plurality of surgical instruments, the update to the control program.

In another aspect the present disclosure provides a method of controlling a surgical system using data analytics. The method comprising: transmitting, from each of a plurality of surgical hubs of the surgical system, operational data of a plurality of surgical instruments communicatively coupled to the plurality of surgical hubs to a cloud computing system of the surgical system; aggregating, by the cloud computing system, the operational data into aggregate medical resource data; determining, by the cloud computing system, a level of criticality of the aggregate medical resource data; analyzing, by the cloud computing system, the aggregate medical resource data to determine a recommended action based on the analyzed aggregate medical resource data and the level of criticality; determining, a priority of the recommended action based on the level of criticality; receiving, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation from the cloud computing system; and displaying, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation.

FIGURES

The features of various aspects are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The various aspects, however, both as to organization and methods of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings as follows.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer-implemented interactive surgical system, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a surgical system being used to perform a surgical procedure in an operating room, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a surgical hub paired with a visualization system, a robotic system, and an intelligent instrument, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of a surgical hub enclosure, and of a combo generator module slidably receivable in a drawer of the surgical hub enclosure, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a combo generator module with bipolar, ultrasonic, and monopolar contacts and a smoke evacuation component, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates individual power bus attachments for a plurality of lateral docking ports of a lateral modular housing configured to receive a plurality of modules, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a vertical modular housing configured to receive a plurality of modules, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a surgical data network comprising a modular communication hub configured to connect modular devices located in one or more operating theaters of a healthcare facility, or any room in a healthcare facility specially equipped for surgical operations, to the cloud, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a computer-implemented interactive surgical system, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a surgical hub comprising a plurality of modules coupled to the modular control tower, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates one aspect of a Universal Serial Bus (USB) network hub device, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates a logic diagram of a control system of a surgical instrument or tool, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates a control circuit configured to control aspects of the surgical instrument or tool, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates a combinational logic circuit configured to control aspects of the surgical instrument or tool, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates a sequential logic circuit configured to control aspects of the surgical instrument or tool, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates a surgical instrument or tool comprising a plurality of motors which can be activated to perform various functions, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a robotic surgical instrument configured to operate a surgical tool described herein, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 18 illustrates a block diagram of a surgical instrument programmed to control the distal translation of a displacement member, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a surgical instrument configured to control various functions, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 20 is a simplified block diagram of a generator configured to provide inductorless tuning, among other benefits, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a generator, which is one form of the generator shown in FIG. 20, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of the computer-implemented interactive surgical system, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram which illustrates the functional architecture of the computer-implemented interactive surgical system, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 24 is an example illustration of a tabulation of various resources correlated to particular types of surgical categories, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 25 provides an example illustration of how data is analyzed by the cloud system to provide a comparison between multiple facilities to compare use of resources, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 26 illustrates one example of how the cloud system may determine efficacy trends from an aggregated set of data across whole regions, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 27 provides an example illustration of some types of analysis the cloud system may be configured to perform to provide the predicting modeling, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 28 provides a graphical illustration of a type of example analysis the cloud system may perform to provide these recommendations, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 29 provides an illustration of how the cloud system may conduct analysis to identify a statistical correlation to a local issue that is tied to how a device is used in the localized setting, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 30 provides a graphical illustration of an example of how some devices may satisfy an equivalent use compared to an intended device, and that the cloud system may determine such equivalent use, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 31 provides various examples of how some data may be used as variables in deciding how a post-operative decision tree may branch out, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 32 illustrates a block diagram of a computer-implemented interactive surgical system that is configured to adaptively generate control program updates for modular devices, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 33 illustrates a logic flow diagram of a process for updating the control program of a modular device, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 34 illustrates a diagram of an illustrative analytics system updating a surgical instrument control program, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 35 illustrates a diagram of an analytics system pushing an update to a modular device through a surgical hub, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 36 illustrates a diagram of a computer-implemented interactive surgical system that is configured to adaptively generate control program updates for surgical hubs, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 37 illustrates a logic flow diagram of a process for updating the control program of a surgical hub, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 38 illustrates a logic flow diagram of a process for updating the data analysis algorithm of a control program of a surgical hub, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 39 provides an illustration of example functionality by a cloud medical analytics system for providing improved security and authentication to multiple medical facilities that are interconnected, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 40 is a flow diagram of the computer-implemented interactive surgical system programmed to use screening criteria to determine critical data and to push requests to a surgical hub to obtain additional data, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 41 is a flow diagram of an aspect of responding to critical data by the computer-implemented interactive surgical system, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 42 is a flow diagram of an aspect of data sorting and prioritization by the computer-implemented interactive surgical system, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 43 illustrates an example system for implementing automated inventory control, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 44 illustrates one example of an institution's cloud interface through which a proposed surgical procedure may be entered, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 45 illustrates one example of an institution's cloud interface through which a cloud-based system provides knowledge regarding the availability and/or usability of inventory items associated with an entered surgical procedure based on system-defined constraints, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 46 illustrates a surgical tool including modular components wherein the status of each modular component is evaluated based on system-defined constraints, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

FIG. 47 illustrates a timeline of an illustrative surgical procedure and the inferences that the surgical hub can make from the data detected at each step in the surgical procedure, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION

Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. patent applications, filed on Dec. 4, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:

-   -   Attorney Docket No. END8495USNP/170727M, titled METHOD OF HUB         COMMUNICATION, PROCESSING, STORAGE AND DISPLAY;     -   Attorney Docket No. END8495USNP1/170727-1M, titled METHOD OF HUB         COMMUNICATION;     -   Attorney Docket No. END8497USNP/170729M, titled METHOD OF         ROBOTIC HUB COMMUNICATION, DETECTION, AND CONTROL;     -   Attorney Docket No. END8505USNP/170772M, titled METHOD OF HUB         COMMUNICATION, PROCESSING, DISPLAY, AND CLOUD ANALYTICS;     -   Attorney Docket No. END8538USNP/170751M, titled METHOD OF         COMPRESSING TISSUE WITHIN A STAPLING DEVICE AND SIMULTANEOUSLY         DISPLAYING THE LOCATION OF THE TISSUE WITHIN THE JAWS;     -   Attorney Docket No. END8539USNP/170752M, titled METHOD OF USING         REINFORCED FLEXIBLE CIRCUITS WITH MULTIPLE SENSORS TO OPTIMIZE         PERFORMANCE OF RADIO FREQUENCY DEVICES;     -   Attorney Docket No. END8540USNP/170753M, titled METHOD OF         SENSING PARTICULATE FROM SMOKE EVACUATED FROM A PATIENT,         ADJUSTING THE PUMP SPEED BASED ON THE SENSED INFORMATION, AND         COMMUNICATING THE FUNCTIONAL PARAMETERS OF THE SYSTEM TO THE         HUB;     -   Attorney Docket No. END8541USNP/170754M, titled METHOD FOR SMOKE         EVACUATION FOR SURGICAL HUB;     -   Attorney Docket No. END8558USNP1/180138-1M, titled METHOD FOR         CONTROLLING SMART ENERGY DEVICES;     -   Attorney Docket No. END8559USNP1/180141-1M, titled METHOD FOR         SMART ENERGY DEVICE INFRASTRUCTURE;     -   Attorney Docket No. END9011USNP1/180510-1M, titled METHOD FOR         ADAPTIVE CONTROL SCHEMES FOR SURGICAL NETWORK CONTROL AND         INTERACTION;     -   Attorney Docket No. END9015USNP1/180514-1M, titled METHOD FOR         SITUATIONAL AWARENESS FOR SURGICAL NETWORK OR SURGICAL NETWORK         CONNECTED DEVICE CAPABLE OF ADJUSTING FUNCTION BASED ON A SENSED         SITUATION OR USAGE;     -   Attorney Docket No. END9017USNP1/180516-1M, titled METHOD FOR         FACILITY DATA COLLECTION AND INTERPRETATION; and     -   Attorney Docket No. END9033USNP1/180520-1M, titled METHOD FOR         CIRCULAR STAPLER CONTROL ALGORITHM ADJUSTMENT BASED ON         SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.

Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. patent applications, filed on Nov. 6, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:

-   -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,224, titled SURGICAL         NETWORK, INSTRUMENT, AND CLOUD RESPONSES BASED ON VALIDATION OF         RECEIVED DATASET AND AUTHENTICATION OF ITS SOURCE AND INTEGRITY;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,230, titled SURGICAL         SYSTEM FOR PRESENTING INFORMATION INTERPRETED FROM EXTERNAL         DATA;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,233, titled SURGICAL         SYSTEMS WITH AUTONOMOUSLY ADJUSTABLE CONTROL PROGRAMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,239, titled ADJUSTMENT         OF DEVICE CONTROL PROGRAMS BASED ON STRATIFIED CONTEXTUAL DATA         IN ADDITION TO THE DATA;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,243, titled SURGICAL HUB         AND MODULAR DEVICE RESPONSE ADJUSTMENT BASED ON SITUATIONAL         AWARENESS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,248, titled DETECTION         AND ESCALATION OF SECURITY RESPONSES OF SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS TO         INCREASING SEVERITY THREATS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,251, titled INTERACTIVE         SURGICAL SYSTEM;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,260, titled AUTOMATED         DATA SCALING, ALIGNMENT, AND ORGANIZING BASED ON PREDEFINED         PARAMETERS WITHIN SURGICAL NETWORKS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,267, titled SENSING THE         PATIENT POSITION AND CONTACT UTILIZING THE MONO-POLAR RETURN PAD         ELECTRODE TO PROVIDE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TO THE HUB;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,249, titled POWERED         SURGICAL TOOL WITH PREDEFINED ADJUSTABLE CONTROL ALGORITHM FOR         CONTROLLING END EFFECTOR PARAMETER;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,246, titled ADJUSTMENTS         BASED ON AIRBORNE PARTICLE PROPERTIES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,256, titled ADJUSTMENT         OF A SURGICAL DEVICE FUNCTION BASED ON SITUATIONAL AWARENESS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,242, titled REAL-TIME         ANALYSIS OF COMPREHENSIVE COST OF ALL INSTRUMENTATION USED IN         SURGERY UTILIZING DATA FLUIDITY TO TRACK INSTRUMENTS THROUGH         STOCKING AND IN-HOUSE PROCESSES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,255, titled USAGE AND         TECHNIQUE ANALYSIS OF SURGEON/STAFF PERFORMANCE AGAINST A         BASELINE TO OPTIMIZE DEVICE UTILIZATION AND PERFORMANCE FOR BOTH         CURRENT AND FUTURE PROCEDURES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,269, titled IMAGE         CAPTURING OF THE AREAS OUTSIDE THE ABDOMEN TO IMPROVE PLACEMENT         AND CONTROL OF A SURGICAL DEVICE IN USE;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,278, titled         COMMUNICATION OF DATA WHERE A SURGICAL NETWORK IS USING CONTEXT         OF THE DATA AND REQUIREMENTS OF A RECEIVING SYSTEM/USER TO         INFLUENCE INCLUSION OR LINKAGE OF DATA AND METADATA TO ESTABLISH         CONTINUITY;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,290, titled SURGICAL         NETWORK RECOMMENDATIONS FROM REAL TIME ANALYSIS OF PROCEDURE         VARIABLES AGAINST A BASELINE HIGHLIGHTING DIFFERENCES FROM THE         OPTIMAL SOLUTION;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,232, titled CONTROL OF A         SURGICAL SYSTEM THROUGH A SURGICAL BARRIER;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,227, titled SURGICAL         NETWORK DETERMINATION OF PRIORITIZATION OF COMMUNICATION,         INTERACTION, OR PROCESSING BASED ON SYSTEM OR DEVICE NEEDS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,231, titled WIRELESS         PAIRING OF A SURGICAL DEVICE WITH ANOTHER DEVICE WITHIN A         STERILE SURGICAL FIELD BASED ON THE USAGE AND SITUATIONAL         AWARENESS OF DEVICES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,229, titled ADJUSTMENT         OF STAPLE HEIGHT OF AT LEAST ONE ROW OF STAPLES BASED ON THE         SENSED TISSUE THICKNESS OR FORCE IN CLOSING;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,234, titled STAPLING         DEVICE WITH BOTH COMPULSORY AND DISCRETIONARY LOCKOUTS BASED ON         SENSED PARAMETERS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,240, titled POWERED         STAPLING DEVICE CONFIGURED TO ADJUST FORCE, ADVANCEMENT SPEED,         AND OVERALL STROKE OF CUTTING MEMBER BASED ON SENSED PARAMETER         OF FIRING OR CLAMPING;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,235, titled VARIATION OF         RADIO FREQUENCY AND ULTRASONIC POWER LEVEL IN COOPERATION WITH         VARYING CLAMP ARM PRESSURE TO ACHIEVE PREDEFINED HEAT FLUX OR         POWER APPLIED TO TISSUE; and     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/182,238, titled ULTRASONIC         ENERGY DEVICE WHICH VARIES PRESSURE APPLIED BY CLAMP ARM TO         PROVIDE THRESHOLD CONTROL PRESSURE AT A CUT PROGRESSION         LOCATION.

Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. patent applications that were filed on Oct. 26, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:

-   -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,303, titled METHOD FOR         OPERATING A POWERED ARTICULATING MULTI-CLIP APPLIER;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,130, titled CLIP APPLIER         COMPRISING INTERCHANGEABLE CLIP RELOADS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,066, titled CLIP APPLIER         COMPRISING A MOVABLE CLIP MAGAZINE;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,078, titled CLIP APPLIER         COMPRISING A ROTATABLE CLIP MAGAZINE;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,087, titled CLIP APPLIER         COMPRISING CLIP ADVANCING SYSTEMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,094, titled CLIP APPLIER         COMPRISING A CLIP CRIMPING SYSTEM;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,128, titled CLIP APPLIER         COMPRISING A RECIPROCATING CLIP ADVANCING MEMBER;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,168, titled CLIP APPLIER         COMPRISING A MOTOR CONTROLLER;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,164, titled SURGICAL         SYSTEM COMPRISING A SURGICAL TOOL AND A SURGICAL HUB;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,328, titled METHOD OF         HUB COMMUNICATION WITH SURGICAL INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,280, titled METHOD FOR         PRODUCING A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT COMPRISING A SMART ELECTRICAL         SYSTEM;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,219, titled METHOD OF         HUB COMMUNICATION WITH SURGICAL INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,248, titled METHOD OF         HUB COMMUNICATION WITH SURGICAL INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,198, titled METHOD OF         HUB COMMUNICATION WITH SURGICAL INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS; and     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/172,155, titled METHOD OF         HUB COMMUNICATION WITH SURGICAL INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS.

Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. patent applications, filed on Aug. 28, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:

-   -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,214, titled ESTIMATING         STATE OF ULTRASONIC END EFFECTOR AND CONTROL SYSTEM THEREFOR;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,205, titled TEMPERATURE         CONTROL OF ULTRASONIC END EFFECTOR AND CONTROL SYSTEM THEREFOR;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,233, titled RADIO         FREQUENCY ENERGY DEVICE FOR DELIVERING COMBINED ELECTRICAL         SIGNALS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,208, titled CONTROLLING         AN ULTRASONIC SURGICAL INSTRUMENT ACCORDING TO TISSUE LOCATION;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,220, titled CONTROLLING         ACTIVATION OF AN ULTRASONIC SURGICAL INSTRUMENT ACCORDING TO THE         PRESENCE OF TISSUE;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,232, titled DETERMINING         TISSUE COMPOSITION VIA AN ULTRASONIC SYSTEM;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,239, titled DETERMINING         THE STATE OF AN ULTRASONIC ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEM ACCORDING TO         FREQUENCY SHIFT;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,247, titled DETERMINING         THE STATE OF AN ULTRASONIC END EFFECTOR;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,211, titled SITUATIONAL         AWARENESS OF ELECTROSURGICAL SYSTEMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,226, titled MECHANISMS         FOR CONTROLLING DIFFERENT ELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS OF AN         ELECTROSURGICAL INSTRUMENT;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,240, titled DETECTION OF         END EFFECTOR EMERSION IN LIQUID;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,249, titled INTERRUPTION         OF ENERGY DUE TO INADVERTENT CAPACITIVE COUPLING;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,256, titled INCREASING         RADIO FREQUENCY TO CREATE PAD-LESS MONOPOLAR LOOP;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,223, titled BIPOLAR         COMBINATION DEVICE THAT AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTS PRESSURE BASED ON         ENERGY MODALITY; and     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/115,238, titled ACTIVATION         OF ENERGY DEVICES.

Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. patent applications, filed on Aug. 24, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:

-   -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,129, titled SURGICAL         SUTURING INSTRUMENT CONFIGURED TO MANIPULATE TISSUE USING         MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL POWER;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,155, titled SURGICAL         SUTURING INSTRUMENT COMPRISING A CAPTURE WIDTH WHICH IS LARGER         THAN TROCAR DIAMETER;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,168, titled SURGICAL         SUTURING INSTRUMENT COMPRISING A NON-CIRCULAR NEEDLE;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,180, titled ELECTRICAL         POWER OUTPUT CONTROL BASED ON MECHANICAL FORCES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,193, titled REACTIVE         ALGORITHM FOR SURGICAL SYSTEM;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,099, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENT COMPRISING AN ADAPTIVE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,112, titled CONTROL         SYSTEM ARRANGEMENTS FOR A MODULAR SURGICAL INSTRUMENT;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,119, titled ADAPTIVE         CONTROL PROGRAMS FOR A SURGICAL SYSTEM COMPRISING MORE THAN ONE         TYPE OF CARTRIDGE;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,097, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS COMPRISING BATTERY ARRANGEMENTS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,109, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS COMPRISING HANDLE ARRANGEMENTS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,114, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS COMPRISING FEEDBACK MECHANISMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,117, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENT SYSTEMS COMPRISING LOCKOUT MECHANISMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,095, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENTS COMPRISING A LOCKABLE END EFFECTOR SOCKET;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,121, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENTS COMPRISING A SHIFTING MECHANISM;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,151, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENTS COMPRISING A SYSTEM FOR ARTICULATION AND ROTATION         COMPENSATION;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,154, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENTS COMPRISING A BIASED SHIFTING MECHANISM;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,226, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENTS COMPRISING AN ARTICULATION DRIVE THAT PROVIDES FOR         HIGH ARTICULATION ANGLES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,062, titled SURGICAL         DISSECTORS AND MANUFACTURING TECHNIQUES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,098, titled SURGICAL         DISSECTORS CONFIGURED TO APPLY MECHANICAL AND ELECTRICAL ENERGY;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,237, titled SURGICAL         CLIP APPLIER CONFIGURED TO STORE CLIPS IN A STORED STATE;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,245, titled SURGICAL         CLIP APPLIER COMPRISING AN EMPTY CLIP CARTRIDGE LOCKOUT;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,249, titled SURGICAL         CLIP APPLIER COMPRISING AN AUTOMATIC CLIP FEEDING SYSTEM;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,253, titled SURGICAL         CLIP APPLIER COMPRISING ADAPTIVE FIRING CONTROL; and     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/112,257, titled SURGICAL         CLIP APPLIER COMPRISING ADAPTIVE CONTROL IN RESPONSE TO A STRAIN         GAUGE CIRCUIT.

Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. patent applications, filed on Jun. 29, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:

-   -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,090, titled CAPACITIVE         COUPLED RETURN PATH PAD WITH SEPARABLE ARRAY ELEMENTS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,057, titled CONTROLLING         A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT ACCORDING TO SENSED CLOSURE PARAMETERS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,067, titled SYSTEMS FOR         ADJUSTING END EFFECTOR PARAMETERS BASED ON PERIOPERATIVE         INFORMATION;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,075, titled SAFETY         SYSTEMS FOR SMART POWERED SURGICAL STAPLING;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,083, titled SAFETY         SYSTEMS FOR SMART POWERED SURGICAL STAPLING;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,094, titled SURGICAL         SYSTEMS FOR DETECTING END EFFECTOR TISSUE DISTRIBUTION         IRREGULARITIES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,138, titled SYSTEMS FOR         DETECTING PROXIMITY OF SURGICAL END EFFECTOR TO CANCEROUS         TISSUE;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,150, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENT CARTRIDGE SENSOR ASSEMBLIES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,160, titled VARIABLE         OUTPUT CARTRIDGE SENSOR ASSEMBLY;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,124, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENT HAVING A FLEXIBLE ELECTRODE;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,132, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENT HAVING A FLEXIBLE CIRCUIT;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,141, titled SURGICAL         INSTRUMENT WITH A TISSUE MARKING ASSEMBLY;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,162, titled SURGICAL         SYSTEMS WITH PRIORITIZED DATA TRANSMISSION CAPABILITIES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,066, titled SURGICAL         EVACUATION SENSING AND MOTOR CONTROL;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,096, titled SURGICAL         EVACUATION SENSOR ARRANGEMENTS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,116, titled SURGICAL         EVACUATION FLOW PATHS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,149, titled SURGICAL         EVACUATION SENSING AND GENERATOR CONTROL;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,180, titled SURGICAL         EVACUATION SENSING AND DISPLAY;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,245, titled         COMMUNICATION OF SMOKE EVACUATION SYSTEM PARAMETERS TO HUB OR         CLOUD IN SMOKE EVACUATION MODULE FOR INTERACTIVE SURGICAL         PLATFORM;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,258, titled SMOKE         EVACUATION SYSTEM INCLUDING A SEGMENTED CONTROL CIRCUIT FOR         INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,265, titled SURGICAL         EVACUATION SYSTEM WITH A COMMUNICATION CIRCUIT FOR COMMUNICATION         BETWEEN A FILTER AND A SMOKE EVACUATION DEVICE; and     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/024,273, titled DUAL         IN-SERIES LARGE AND SMALL DROPLET FILTERS.

Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. patent applications, filed on Mar. 29, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:

-   -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,641, titled INTERACTIVE         SURGICAL SYSTEMS WITH ENCRYPTED COMMUNICATION CAPABILITIES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,648, titled INTERACTIVE         SURGICAL SYSTEMS WITH CONDITION HANDLING OF DEVICES AND DATA         CAPABILITIES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,656, titled SURGICAL HUB         COORDINATION OF CONTROL AND COMMUNICATION OF OPERATING ROOM         DEVICES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,666, titled SPATIAL         AWARENESS OF SURGICAL HUBS IN OPERATING ROOMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,670, titled COOPERATIVE         UTILIZATION OF DATA DERIVED FROM SECONDARY SOURCES BY         INTELLIGENT SURGICAL HUBS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,677, titled SURGICAL HUB         CONTROL ARRANGEMENTS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,632, titled DATA         STRIPPING METHOD TO INTERROGATE PATIENT RECORDS AND CREATE         ANONYMIZED RECORD;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,640, titled         COMMUNICATION HUB AND STORAGE DEVICE FOR STORING PARAMETERS AND         STATUS OF A SURGICAL DEVICE TO BE SHARED WITH CLOUD BASED         ANALYTICS SYSTEMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,645, titled SELF         DESCRIBING DATA PACKETS GENERATED AT AN ISSUING INSTRUMENT;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,649, titled DATA PAIRING         TO INTERCONNECT A DEVICE MEASURED PARAMETER WITH AN OUTCOME;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,654, titled SURGICAL HUB         SITUATIONAL AWARENESS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,663, titled SURGICAL         SYSTEM DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,668, titled AGGREGATION         AND REPORTING OF SURGICAL HUB DATA;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,671, titled SURGICAL HUB         SPATIAL AWARENESS TO DETERMINE DEVICES IN OPERATING THEATER;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,686, titled DISPLAY OF         ALIGNMENT OF STAPLE CARTRIDGE TO PRIOR LINEAR STAPLE LINE;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,700, titled STERILE         FIELD INTERACTIVE CONTROL DISPLAYS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,629, titled COMPUTER         IMPLEMENTED INTERACTIVE SURGICAL SYSTEMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,704, titled USE OF LASER         LIGHT AND RED-GREEN-BLUE COLORATION TO DETERMINE PROPERTIES OF         BACK SCATTERED LIGHT;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,722, titled         CHARACTERIZATION OF TISSUE IRREGULARITIES THROUGH THE USE OF         MONO-CHROMATIC LIGHT REFRACTIVITY;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,742, titled DUAL CMOS         ARRAY IMAGING;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,636, titled ADAPTIVE         CONTROL PROGRAM UPDATES FOR SURGICAL DEVICES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,653, titled ADAPTIVE         CONTROL PROGRAM UPDATES FOR SURGICAL HUBS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,660, titled CLOUD-BASED         MEDICAL ANALYTICS FOR CUSTOMIZATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO A         USER;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,679, titled CLOUD-BASED         MEDICAL ANALYTICS FOR LINKING OF LOCAL USAGE TRENDS WITH THE         RESOURCE ACQUISITION BEHAVIORS OF LARGER DATA SET;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,694, titled CLOUD-BASED         MEDICAL ANALYTICS FOR MEDICAL FACILITY SEGMENTED         INDIVIDUALIZATION OF INSTRUMENT FUNCTION;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,634, titled CLOUD-BASED         MEDICAL ANALYTICS FOR SECURITY AND AUTHENTICATION TRENDS AND         REACTIVE MEASURES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,706, titled DATA         HANDLING AND PRIORITIZATION IN A CLOUD ANALYTICS NETWORK;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,675, titled CLOUD         INTERFACE FOR COUPLED SURGICAL DEVICES;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,627, titled DRIVE         ARRANGEMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,637, titled         COMMUNICATION ARRANGEMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL         PLATFORMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,642, titled CONTROLS FOR         ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,676, titled AUTOMATIC         TOOL ADJUSTMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,680, titled CONTROLLERS         FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,683, titled COOPERATIVE         SURGICAL ACTIONS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS;     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,690, titled DISPLAY         ARRANGEMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS; and     -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,711, titled SENSING         ARRANGEMENTS FOR ROBOT-ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORMS.

Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. Provisional patent applications, filed on Mar. 8, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:

-   -   U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/640,417, titled         TEMPERATURE CONTROL IN ULTRASONIC DEVICE AND CONTROL SYSTEM         THEREFOR; and     -   U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/640,415, titled         ESTIMATING STATE OF ULTRASONIC END EFFECTOR AND CONTROL SYSTEM         THEREFOR.

Before explaining various aspects of surgical devices and generators in detail, it should be noted that the illustrative examples are not limited in application or use to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and description. The illustrative examples may be implemented or incorporated in other aspects, variations and modifications, and may be practiced or carried out in various ways. Further, unless otherwise indicated, the terms and expressions employed herein have been chosen for the purpose of describing the illustrative examples for the convenience of the reader and are not for the purpose of limitation thereof. Also, it will be appreciated that one or more of the following-described aspects, expressions of aspects, and/or examples, can be combined with any one or more of the other following-described aspects, expressions of aspects and/or examples.

Aspects of the present disclosure are presented for a comprehensive digital medical system capable of spanning multiple medical facilities and configured to provide integrated and comprehensive improved medical care to a vast number of patients. The comprehensive digital medical system includes a cloud-based medical analytics system that is configured to interconnect to multiple surgical hubs located across many different medical facilities. The surgical hubs are configured to interconnect with one or more surgical devices that are used to conduct medical procedures on patients. The surgical hubs provide a wide array of functionality to improve the outcomes of medical procedures. The data generated by the various surgical devices and medical hubs about the patient and the medical procedure may be transmitted to the cloud-based medical analytics system. This data may then be aggregated with similar data gathered from many other surgical hubs and surgical devices located at other medical facilities. Various patterns and correlations may be found through the cloud-based analytics system analyzing the collected data. Improvements in the techniques used to generate the data may be generated as a result, and these improvements may then be disseminated to the various surgical hubs and surgical devices. Due to the interconnectedness of all of the aforementioned components, improvements in medical procedures and practices may be found that otherwise may not be found if the many components were not so interconnected. Various examples of structures and functions of these various components will be described in more detail in the following description.

Referring to FIG. 1, a computer-implemented interactive surgical system 100 includes one or more surgical systems 102 and a cloud-based system (e.g., the cloud 104 that may include a remote server 113 coupled to a storage device 105). Each surgical system 102 includes at least one surgical hub 106 in communication with the cloud 104 that may include a remote server 113. In one example, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the surgical system 102 includes a visualization system 108, a robotic system 110, and a handheld intelligent surgical instrument 112, which are configured to communicate with one another and/or the hub 106. In some aspects, a surgical system 102 may include an M number of hubs 106, an N number of visualization systems 108, an O number of robotic systems 110, and a P number of handheld intelligent surgical instruments 112, where M, N, O, and P are integers greater than or equal to one.

FIG. 3 depicts an example of a surgical system 102 being used to perform a surgical procedure on a patient who is lying down on an operating table 114 in a surgical operating room 116. A robotic system 110 is used in the surgical procedure as a part of the surgical system 102. The robotic system 110 includes a surgeon's console 118, a patient side cart 120 (surgical robot), and a surgical robotic hub 122. The patient side cart 120 can manipulate at least one removably coupled surgical tool 117 through a minimally invasive incision in the body of the patient while the surgeon views the surgical site through the surgeon's console 118. An image of the surgical site can be obtained by a medical imaging device 124, which can be manipulated by the patient side cart 120 to orient the imaging device 124. The robotic hub 122 can be used to process the images of the surgical site for subsequent display to the surgeon through the surgeon's console 118.

Other types of robotic systems can be readily adapted for use with the surgical system 102. Various examples of robotic systems and surgical tools that are suitable for use with the present disclosure are described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/611,339, titled ROBOT ASSISTED SURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Dec. 28, 2017, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Various examples of cloud-based analytics that are performed by the cloud 104, and are suitable for use with the present disclosure, are described in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/611,340, titled CLOUD-BASED MEDICAL ANALYTICS, filed Dec. 28, 2017, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

In various aspects, the imaging device 124 includes at least one image sensor and one or more optical components. Suitable image sensors include, but are not limited to, Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) sensors and Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) sensors.

The optical components of the imaging device 124 may include one or more illumination sources and/or one or more lenses. The one or more illumination sources may be directed to illuminate portions of the surgical field. The one or more image sensors may receive light reflected or refracted from the surgical field, including light reflected or refracted from tissue and/or surgical instruments.

The one or more illumination sources may be configured to radiate electromagnetic energy in the visible spectrum as well as the invisible spectrum. The visible spectrum, sometimes referred to as the optical spectrum or luminous spectrum, is that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to (i.e., can be detected by) the human eye and may be referred to as visible light or simply light. A typical human eye will respond to wavelengths in air that are from about 380 nm to about 750 nm.

The invisible spectrum (i.e., the non-luminous spectrum) is that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that lies below and above the visible spectrum (i.e., wavelengths below about 380 nm and above about 750 nm). The invisible spectrum is not detectable by the human eye. Wavelengths greater than about 750 nm are longer than the red visible spectrum, and they become invisible infrared (IR), microwave, and radio electromagnetic radiation. Wavelengths less than about 380 nm are shorter than the violet spectrum, and they become invisible ultraviolet, x-ray, and gamma ray electromagnetic radiation.

In various aspects, the imaging device 124 is configured for use in a minimally invasive procedure. Examples of imaging devices suitable for use with the present disclosure include, but not limited to, an arthroscope, angioscope, bronchoscope, choledochoscope, colonoscope, cytoscope, duodenoscope, enteroscope, esophagogastro-duodenoscope (gastroscope), endoscope, laryngoscope, nasopharyngo-neproscope, sigmoidoscope, thoracoscope, and ureteroscope.

In one aspect, the imaging device employs multi-spectrum monitoring to discriminate topography and underlying structures. A multi-spectral image is one that captures image data within specific wavelength ranges across the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelengths may be separated by filters or by the use of instruments that are sensitive to particular wavelengths, including light from frequencies beyond the visible light range, e.g., IR and ultraviolet. Spectral imaging can allow extraction of additional information the human eye fails to capture with its receptors for red, green, and blue. The use of multi-spectral imaging is described in greater detail under the heading “Advanced Imaging Acquisition Module” in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/611,341, titled INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Dec. 28, 2017, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. Multi-spectrum monitoring can be a useful tool in relocating a surgical field after a surgical task is completed to perform one or more of the previously described tests on the treated tissue.

It is axiomatic that strict sterilization of the operating room and surgical equipment is required during any surgery. The strict hygiene and sterilization conditions required in a “surgical theater,” i.e., an operating or treatment room, necessitate the highest possible sterility of all medical devices and equipment. Part of that sterilization process is the need to sterilize anything that comes in contact with the patient or penetrates the sterile field, including the imaging device 124 and its attachments and components. It will be appreciated that the sterile field may be considered a specified area, such as within a tray or on a sterile towel, that is considered free of microorganisms, or the sterile field may be considered an area, immediately around a patient, who has been prepared for a surgical procedure. The sterile field may include the scrubbed team members, who are properly attired, and all furniture and fixtures in the area.

In various aspects, the visualization system 108 includes one or more imaging sensors, one or more image-processing units, one or more storage arrays, and one or more displays that are strategically arranged with respect to the sterile field, as illustrated in FIG. 2. In one aspect, the visualization system 108 includes an interface for HL7, PACS, and EMR. Various components of the visualization system 108 are described under the heading “Advanced Imaging Acquisition Module” in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/611,341, titled INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Dec. 28, 2017, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a primary display 119 is positioned in the sterile field to be visible to an operator at the operating table 114. In addition, a visualization tower 111 is positioned outside the sterile field. The visualization tower 111 includes a first non-sterile display 107 and a second non-sterile display 109, which face away from each other. The visualization system 108, guided by the hub 106, is configured to utilize the displays 107, 109, and 119 to coordinate information flow to operators inside and outside the sterile field. For example, the hub 106 may cause the visualization system 108 to display a snapshot of a surgical site, as recorded by an imaging device 124, on a non-sterile display 107 or 109, while maintaining a live feed of the surgical site on the primary display 119. The snapshot on the non-sterile display 107 or 109 can permit a non-sterile operator to perform a diagnostic step relevant to the surgical procedure, for example.

In one aspect, the hub 106 is also configured to route a diagnostic input or feedback entered by a non-sterile operator at the visualization tower 111 to the primary display 119 within the sterile field, where it can be viewed by a sterile operator at the operating table. In one example, the input can be in the form of a modification to the snapshot displayed on the non-sterile display 107 or 109, which can be routed to the primary display 119 by the hub 106.

Referring to FIG. 2, a surgical instrument 112 is being used in the surgical procedure as part of the surgical system 102. The hub 106 is also configured to coordinate information flow to a display of the surgical instrument 112. For example, in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/611,341, titled INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Dec. 28, 2017, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. A diagnostic input or feedback entered by a non-sterile operator at the visualization tower 111 can be routed by the hub 106 to the surgical instrument display 115 within the sterile field, where it can be viewed by the operator of the surgical instrument 112. Example surgical instruments that are suitable for use with the surgical system 102 are described under the heading “Surgical Instrument Hardware” and in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/611,341, titled INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Dec. 28, 2017, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, for example.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a hub 106 is depicted in communication with a visualization system 108, a robotic system 110, and a handheld intelligent surgical instrument 112. The hub 106 includes a hub display 135, an imaging module 138, a generator module 140, a communication module 130, a processor module 132, and a storage array 134. In certain aspects, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the hub 106 further includes a smoke evacuation module 126 and/or a suction/irrigation module 128.

During a surgical procedure, energy application to tissue, for sealing and/or cutting, is generally associated with smoke evacuation, suction of excess fluid, and/or irrigation of the tissue. Fluid, power, and/or data lines from different sources are often entangled during the surgical procedure. Valuable time can be lost addressing this issue during a surgical procedure. Detangling the lines may necessitate disconnecting the lines from their respective modules, which may require resetting the modules. The hub modular enclosure 136 offers a unified environment for managing the power, data, and fluid lines, which reduces the frequency of entanglement between such lines.

Aspects of the present disclosure present a surgical hub for use in a surgical procedure that involves energy application to tissue at a surgical site. The surgical hub includes a hub enclosure and a combo generator module slidably receivable in a docking station of the hub enclosure. The docking station includes data and power contacts. The combo generator module includes two or more of an ultrasonic energy generator component, a bipolar RF energy generator component, and a monopolar RF energy generator component that are housed in a single unit. In one aspect, the combo generator module also includes a smoke evacuation component, at least one energy delivery cable for connecting the combo generator module to a surgical instrument, at least one smoke evacuation component configured to evacuate smoke, fluid, and/or particulates generated by the application of therapeutic energy to the tissue, and a fluid line extending from the remote surgical site to the smoke evacuation component.

In one aspect, the fluid line is a first fluid line and a second fluid line extends from the remote surgical site to a suction and irrigation module slidably received in the hub enclosure. In one aspect, the hub enclosure comprises a fluid interface.

Certain surgical procedures may require the application of more than one energy type to the tissue. One energy type may be more beneficial for cutting the tissue, while another different energy type may be more beneficial for sealing the tissue. For example, a bipolar generator can be used to seal the tissue while an ultrasonic generator can be used to cut the sealed tissue. Aspects of the present disclosure present a solution where a hub modular enclosure 136 is configured to accommodate different generators, and facilitate an interactive communication therebetween. One of the advantages of the hub modular enclosure 136 is enabling the quick removal and/or replacement of various modules.

Aspects of the present disclosure present a modular surgical enclosure for use in a surgical procedure that involves energy application to tissue. The modular surgical enclosure includes a first energy-generator module, configured to generate a first energy for application to the tissue, and a first docking station comprising a first docking port that includes first data and power contacts, wherein the first energy-generator module is slidably movable into an electrical engagement with the power and data contacts and wherein the first energy-generator module is slidably movable out of the electrical engagement with the first power and data contacts,

Further to the above, the modular surgical enclosure also includes a second energy-generator module configured to generate a second energy, different than the first energy, for application to the tissue, and a second docking station comprising a second docking port that includes second data and power contacts, wherein the second energy-generator module is slidably movable into an electrical engagement with the power and data contacts, and wherein the second energy-generator module is slidably movable out of the electrical engagement with the second power and data contacts.

In addition, the modular surgical enclosure also includes a communication bus between the first docking port and the second docking port, configured to facilitate communication between the first energy-generator module and the second energy-generator module.

Referring to FIGS. 3-7, aspects of the present disclosure are presented for a hub modular enclosure 136 that allows the modular integration of a generator module 140, a smoke evacuation module 126, and a suction/irrigation module 128. The hub modular enclosure 136 further facilitates interactive communication between the modules 140, 126, 128. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the generator module 140 can be a generator module with integrated monopolar, bipolar, and ultrasonic components supported in a single housing unit 139 slidably insertable into the hub modular enclosure 136. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the generator module 140 can be configured to connect to a monopolar device 146, a bipolar device 147, and an ultrasonic device 148. Alternatively, the generator module 140 may comprise a series of monopolar, bipolar, and/or ultrasonic generator modules that interact through the hub modular enclosure 136. The hub modular enclosure 136 can be configured to facilitate the insertion of multiple generators and interactive communication between the generators docked into the hub modular enclosure 136 so that the generators would act as a single generator.

In one aspect, the hub modular enclosure 136 comprises a modular power and communication backplane 149 with external and wireless communication headers to enable the removable attachment of the modules 140, 126, 128 and interactive communication therebetween.

In one aspect, the hub modular enclosure 136 includes docking stations, or drawers, 151, herein also referred to as drawers, which are configured to slidably receive the modules 140, 126, 128. FIG. 4 illustrates a partial perspective view of a surgical hub enclosure 136, and a combo generator module 145 slidably receivable in a docking station 151 of the surgical hub enclosure 136. A docking port 152 with power and data contacts on a rear side of the combo generator module 145 is configured to engage a corresponding docking port 150 with power and data contacts of a corresponding docking station 151 of the hub modular enclosure 136 as the combo generator module 145 is slid into position within the corresponding docking station 151 of the hub module enclosure 136. In one aspect, the combo generator module 145 includes a bipolar, ultrasonic, and monopolar module and a smoke evacuation module integrated together into a single housing unit 139, as illustrated in FIG. 5.

In various aspects, the smoke evacuation module 126 includes a fluid line 154 that conveys captured/collected smoke and/or fluid away from a surgical site and to, for example, the smoke evacuation module 126. Vacuum suction originating from the smoke evacuation module 126 can draw the smoke into an opening of a utility conduit at the surgical site. The utility conduit, coupled to the fluid line, can be in the form of a flexible tube terminating at the smoke evacuation module 126. The utility conduit and the fluid line define a fluid path extending toward the smoke evacuation module 126 that is received in the hub enclosure 136.

In various aspects, the suction/irrigation module 128 is coupled to a surgical tool comprising an aspiration fluid line and a suction fluid line. In one example, the aspiration and suction fluid lines are in the form of flexible tubes extending from the surgical site toward the suction/irrigation module 128. One or more drive systems can be configured to cause irrigation and aspiration of fluids to and from the surgical site.

In one aspect, the surgical tool includes a shaft having an end effector at a distal end thereof and at least one energy treatment associated with the end effector, an aspiration tube, and an irrigation tube. The aspiration tube can have an inlet port at a distal end thereof and the aspiration tube extends through the shaft. Similarly, an irrigation tube can extend through the shaft and can have an inlet port in proximity to the energy deliver implement. The energy deliver implement is configured to deliver ultrasonic and/or RF energy to the surgical site and is coupled to the generator module 140 by a cable extending initially through the shaft.

The irrigation tube can be in fluid communication with a fluid source, and the aspiration tube can be in fluid communication with a vacuum source. The fluid source and/or the vacuum source can be housed in the suction/irrigation module 128. In one example, the fluid source and/or the vacuum source can be housed in the hub enclosure 136 separately from the suction/irrigation module 128. In such example, a fluid interface can be configured to connect the suction/irrigation module 128 to the fluid source and/or the vacuum source.

In one aspect, the modules 140, 126, 128 and/or their corresponding docking stations on the hub modular enclosure 136 may include alignment features that are configured to align the docking ports of the modules into engagement with their counterparts in the docking stations of the hub modular enclosure 136. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the combo generator module 145 includes side brackets 155 that are configured to slidably engage with corresponding brackets 156 of the corresponding docking station 151 of the hub modular enclosure 136. The brackets cooperate to guide the docking port contacts of the combo generator module 145 into an electrical engagement with the docking port contacts of the hub modular enclosure 136.

In some aspects, the drawers 151 of the hub modular enclosure 136 are the same, or substantially the same size, and the modules are adjusted in size to be received in the drawers 151. For example, the side brackets 155 and/or 156 can be larger or smaller depending on the size of the module. In other aspects, the drawers 151 are different in size and are each designed to accommodate a particular module.

Furthermore, the contacts of a particular module can be keyed for engagement with the contacts of a particular drawer to avoid inserting a module into a drawer with mismatching contacts.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the docking port 150 of one drawer 151 can be coupled to the docking port 150 of another drawer 151 through a communications link 157 to facilitate an interactive communication between the modules housed in the hub modular enclosure 136. The docking ports 150 of the hub modular enclosure 136 may alternatively, or additionally, facilitate a wireless interactive communication between the modules housed in the hub modular enclosure 136. Any suitable wireless communication can be employed, such as for example Air Titan-Bluetooth.

FIG. 6 illustrates individual power bus attachments for a plurality of lateral docking ports of a lateral modular housing 160 configured to receive a plurality of modules of a surgical hub 206. The lateral modular housing 160 is configured to laterally receive and interconnect the modules 161. The modules 161 are slidably inserted into docking stations 162 of lateral modular housing 160, which includes a backplane for interconnecting the modules 161. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the modules 161 are arranged laterally in the lateral modular housing 160. Alternatively, the modules 161 may be arranged vertically in a lateral modular housing.

FIG. 7 illustrates a vertical modular housing 164 configured to receive a plurality of modules 165 of the surgical hub 106. The modules 165 are slidably inserted into docking stations, or drawers, 167 of vertical modular housing 164, which includes a backplane for interconnecting the modules 165. Although the drawers 167 of the vertical modular housing 164 are arranged vertically, in certain instances, a vertical modular housing 164 may include drawers that are arranged laterally. Furthermore, the modules 165 may interact with one another through the docking ports of the vertical modular housing 164. In the example of FIG. 7, a display 177 is provided for displaying data relevant to the operation of the modules 165. In addition, the vertical modular housing 164 includes a master module 178 housing a plurality of sub-modules that are slidably received in the master module 178.

In various aspects, the imaging module 138 comprises an integrated video processor and a modular light source and is adapted for use with various imaging devices. In one aspect, the imaging device is comprised of a modular housing that can be assembled with a light source module and a camera module. The housing can be a disposable housing. In at least one example, the disposable housing is removably coupled to a reusable controller, a light source module, and a camera module. The light source module and/or the camera module can be selectively chosen depending on the type of surgical procedure. In one aspect, the camera module comprises a CCD sensor. In another aspect, the camera module comprises a CMOS sensor. In another aspect, the camera module is configured for scanned beam imaging. Likewise, the light source module can be configured to deliver a white light or a different light, depending on the surgical procedure.

During a surgical procedure, removing a surgical device from the surgical field and replacing it with another surgical device that includes a different camera or a different light source can be inefficient. Temporarily losing sight of the surgical field may lead to undesirable consequences. The module imaging device of the present disclosure is configured to permit the replacement of a light source module or a camera module midstream during a surgical procedure, without having to remove the imaging device from the surgical field.

In one aspect, the imaging device comprises a tubular housing that includes a plurality of channels. A first channel is configured to slidably receive the camera module, which can be configured for a snap-fit engagement with the first channel. A second channel is configured to slidably receive the light source module, which can be configured for a snap-fit engagement with the second channel. In another example, the camera module and/or the light source module can be rotated into a final position within their respective channels. A threaded engagement can be employed in lieu of the snap-fit engagement.

In various examples, multiple imaging devices are placed at different positions in the surgical field to provide multiple views. The imaging module 138 can be configured to switch between the imaging devices to provide an optimal view. In various aspects, the imaging module 138 can be configured to integrate the images from the different imaging device.

Various image processors and imaging devices suitable for use with the present disclosure are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,995,045, titled COMBINED SBI AND CONVENTIONAL IMAGE PROCESSOR, which issued on Aug. 9, 2011, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 7,982,776, titled SBI MOTION ARTIFACT REMOVAL APPARATUS AND METHOD, which issued on Jul. 19, 2011, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes various systems for removing motion artifacts from image data. Such systems can be integrated with the imaging module 138. Furthermore, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0306840, titled CONTROLLABLE MAGNETIC SOURCE TO FIXTURE INTRACORPOREAL APPARATUS, which published on Dec. 15, 2011, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0243597, titled SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING A MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGICAL PROCEDURE, which published on Aug. 28, 2014, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 8 illustrates a surgical data network 201 comprising a modular communication hub 203 configured to connect modular devices located in one or more operating theaters of a healthcare facility, or any room in a healthcare facility specially equipped for surgical operations, to a cloud-based system (e.g., the cloud 204 that may include a remote server 213 coupled to a storage device 205). In one aspect, the modular communication hub 203 comprises a network hub 207 and/or a network switch 209 in communication with a network router. The modular communication hub 203 also can be coupled to a local computer system 210 to provide local computer processing and data manipulation. The surgical data network 201 may be configured as passive, intelligent, or switching. A passive surgical data network serves as a conduit for the data, enabling it to go from one device (or segment) to another and to the cloud computing resources. An intelligent surgical data network includes additional features to enable the traffic passing through the surgical data network to be monitored and to configure each port in the network hub 207 or network switch 209. An intelligent surgical data network may be referred to as a manageable hub or switch. A switching hub reads the destination address of each packet and then forwards the packet to the correct port.

Modular devices 1 a-1 n located in the operating theater may be coupled to the modular communication hub 203. The network hub 207 and/or the network switch 209 may be coupled to a network router 211 to connect the devices 1 a-1 n to the cloud 204 or the local computer system 210. Data associated with the devices 1 a-1 n may be transferred to cloud-based computers via the router for remote data processing and manipulation. Data associated with the devices 1 a-1 n may also be transferred to the local computer system 210 for local data processing and manipulation. Modular devices 2 a-2 m located in the same operating theater also may be coupled to a network switch 209. The network switch 209 may be coupled to the network hub 207 and/or the network router 211 to connect to the devices 2 a-2 m to the cloud 204. Data associated with the devices 2 a-2 n may be transferred to the cloud 204 via the network router 211 for data processing and manipulation. Data associated with the devices 2 a-2 m may also be transferred to the local computer system 210 for local data processing and manipulation.

It will be appreciated that the surgical data network 201 may be expanded by interconnecting multiple network hubs 207 and/or multiple network switches 209 with multiple network routers 211. The modular communication hub 203 may be contained in a modular control tower configured to receive multiple devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m. The local computer system 210 also may be contained in a modular control tower. The modular communication hub 203 is connected to a display 212 to display images obtained by some of the devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m, for example during surgical procedures. In various aspects, the devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m may include, for example, various modules such as an imaging module 138 coupled to an endoscope, a generator module 140 coupled to an energy-based surgical device, a smoke evacuation module 126, a suction/irrigation module 128, a communication module 130, a processor module 132, a storage array 134, a surgical device coupled to a display, and/or a non-contact sensor module, among other modular devices that may be connected to the modular communication hub 203 of the surgical data network 201.

In one aspect, the surgical data network 201 may comprise a combination of network hub(s), network switch(es), and network router(s) connecting the devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m to the cloud. Any one of or all of the devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m coupled to the network hub or network switch may collect data in real time and transfer the data to cloud computers for data processing and manipulation. It will be appreciated that cloud computing relies on sharing computing resources rather than having local servers or personal devices to handle software applications. The word “cloud” may be used as a metaphor for “the Internet,” although the term is not limited as such. Accordingly, the term “cloud computing” may be used herein to refer to “a type of Internet-based computing,” where different services-such as servers, storage, and applications—are delivered to the modular communication hub 203 and/or computer system 210 located in the surgical theater (e.g., a fixed, mobile, temporary, or field operating room or space) and to devices connected to the modular communication hub 203 and/or computer system 210 through the Internet. The cloud infrastructure may be maintained by a cloud service provider. In this context, the cloud service provider may be the entity that coordinates the usage and control of the devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m located in one or more operating theaters. The cloud computing services can perform a large number of calculations based on the data gathered by smart surgical instruments, robots, and other computerized devices located in the operating theater. The hub hardware enables multiple devices or connections to be connected to a computer that communicates with the cloud computing resources and storage.

Applying cloud computer data processing techniques on the data collected by the devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m, the surgical data network provides improved surgical outcomes, reduced costs, and improved patient satisfaction. At least some of the devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m may be employed to view tissue states to assess leaks or perfusion of sealed tissue after a tissue sealing and cutting procedure. At least some of the devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m may be employed to identify pathology, such as the effects of diseases, using the cloud-based computing to examine data including images of samples of body tissue for diagnostic purposes. This includes localization and margin confirmation of tissue and phenotypes. At least some of the devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m may be employed to identify anatomical structures of the body using a variety of sensors integrated with imaging devices and techniques such as overlaying images captured by multiple imaging devices. The data gathered by the devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m, including image data, may be transferred to the cloud 204 or the local computer system 210 or both for data processing and manipulation including image processing and manipulation. The data may be analyzed to improve surgical procedure outcomes by determining if further treatment, such as the application of endoscopic intervention, emerging technologies, a targeted radiation, targeted intervention, and precise robotics to tissue-specific sites and conditions, may be pursued. Such data analysis may further employ outcome analytics processing, and using standardized approaches may provide beneficial feedback to either confirm surgical treatments and the behavior of the surgeon or suggest modifications to surgical treatments and the behavior of the surgeon.

In one implementation, the operating theater devices 1 a-1 n may be connected to the modular communication hub 203 over a wired channel or a wireless channel depending on the configuration of the devices 1 a-1 n to a network hub. The network hub 207 may be implemented, in one aspect, as a local network broadcast device that works on the physical layer of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model. The network hub provides connectivity to the devices 1 a-1 n located in the same operating theater network. The network hub 207 collects data in the form of packets and sends them to the router in half duplex mode. The network hub 207 does not store any media access control/Internet Protocol (MAC/IP) to transfer the device data. Only one of the devices 1 a-1 n can send data at a time through the network hub 207. The network hub 207 has no routing tables or intelligence regarding where to send information and broadcasts all network data across each connection and to a remote server 213 (FIG. 9) over the cloud 204. The network hub 207 can detect basic network errors such as collisions, but having all information broadcast to multiple ports can be a security risk and cause bottlenecks.

In another implementation, the operating theater devices 2 a-2 m may be connected to a network switch 209 over a wired channel or a wireless channel. The network switch 209 works in the data link layer of the OSI model. The network switch 209 is a multicast device for connecting the devices 2 a-2 m located in the same operating theater to the network. The network switch 209 sends data in the form of frames to the network router 211 and works in full duplex mode. Multiple devices 2 a-2 m can send data at the same time through the network switch 209. The network switch 209 stores and uses MAC addresses of the devices 2 a-2 m to transfer data.

The network hub 207 and/or the network switch 209 are coupled to the network router 211 for connection to the cloud 204. The network router 211 works in the network layer of the OSI model. The network router 211 creates a route for transmitting data packets received from the network hub 207 and/or network switch 211 to cloud-based computer resources for further processing and manipulation of the data collected by any one of or all the devices 1 a-n/2 a-2 m. The network router 211 may be employed to connect two or more different networks located in different locations, such as, for example, different operating theaters of the same healthcare facility or different networks located in different operating theaters of different healthcare facilities. The network router 211 sends data in the form of packets to the cloud 204 and works in full duplex mode. Multiple devices can send data at the same time. The network router 211 uses IP addresses to transfer data.

In one example, the network hub 207 may be implemented as a USB hub, which allows multiple USB devices to be connected to a host computer. The USB hub may expand a single USB port into several tiers so that there are more ports available to connect devices to the host system computer. The network hub 207 may include wired or wireless capabilities to receive information over a wired channel or a wireless channel. In one aspect, a wireless USB short-range, high-bandwidth wireless radio communication protocol may be employed for communication between the devices 1 a-1 n and devices 2 a-2 m located in the operating theater.

In other examples, the operating theater devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m may communicate to the modular communication hub 203 via Bluetooth wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances (using short-wavelength UHF radio waves in the ISM band from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz) from fixed and mobile devices and building personal area networks (PANs). In other aspects, the operating theater devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m may communicate to the modular communication hub 203 via a number of wireless or wired communication standards or protocols, including but not limited to Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 family), WiMAX (IEEE 802.16 family), IEEE 802.20, long-term evolution (LTE), and Ev-DO, HSPA+, HSDPA+, HSUPA+, EDGE, GSM, GPRS, CDMA, TDMA, DECT, and Ethernet derivatives thereof, as well as any other wireless and wired protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond. The computing module may include a plurality of communication modules. For instance, a first communication module may be dedicated to shorter-range wireless communications such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and a second communication module may be dedicated to longer-range wireless communications such as GPS, EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, Ev-DO, and others.

The modular communication hub 203 may serve as a central connection for one or all of the operating theater devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m and handles a data type known as frames. Frames carry the data generated by the devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m. When a frame is received by the modular communication hub 203, it is amplified and transmitted to the network router 211, which transfers the data to the cloud computing resources by using a number of wireless or wired communication standards or protocols, as described herein.

The modular communication hub 203 can be used as a standalone device or be connected to compatible network hubs and network switches to form a larger network. The modular communication hub 203 is generally easy to install, configure, and maintain, making it a good option for networking the operating theater devices 1 a-1 n/2 a-2 m.

FIG. 9 illustrates a computer-implemented interactive surgical system 200. The computer-implemented interactive surgical system 200 is similar in many respects to the computer-implemented interactive surgical system 100. For example, the computer-implemented interactive surgical system 200 includes one or more surgical systems 202, which are similar in many respects to the surgical systems 102. Each surgical system 202 includes at least one surgical hub 206 in communication with a cloud 204 that may include a remote server 213. In one aspect, the computer-implemented interactive surgical system 200 comprises a modular control tower 236 connected to multiple operating theater devices such as, for example, intelligent surgical instruments, robots, and other computerized devices located in the operating theater. As shown in FIG. 10, the modular control tower 236 comprises a modular communication hub 203 coupled to a computer system 210. As illustrated in the example of FIG. 9, the modular control tower 236 is coupled to an imaging module 238 that is coupled to an endoscope 239, a generator module 240 that is coupled to an energy device 241, a smoke evacuator module 226, a suction/irrigation module 228, a communication module 230, a processor module 232, a storage array 234, a smart device/instrument 235 optionally coupled to a display 237, and a non-contact sensor module 242. The operating theater devices are coupled to cloud computing resources and data storage via the modular control tower 236. A robot hub 222 also may be connected to the modular control tower 236 and to the cloud computing resources. The devices/instruments 235, visualization systems 208, among others, may be coupled to the modular control tower 236 via wired or wireless communication standards or protocols, as described herein. The modular control tower 236 may be coupled to a hub display 215 (e.g., monitor, screen) to display and overlay images received from the imaging module, device/instrument display, and/or other visualization systems 208. The hub display also may display data received from devices connected to the modular control tower in conjunction with images and overlaid images.

FIG. 10 illustrates a surgical hub 206 comprising a plurality of modules coupled to the modular control tower 236. The modular control tower 236 comprises a modular communication hub 203, e.g., a network connectivity device, and a computer system 210 to provide local processing, visualization, and imaging, for example. As shown in FIG. 10, the modular communication hub 203 may be connected in a tiered configuration to expand the number of modules (e.g., devices) that may be connected to the modular communication hub 203 and transfer data associated with the modules to the computer system 210, cloud computing resources, or both. As shown in FIG. 10, each of the network hubs/switches in the modular communication hub 203 includes three downstream ports and one upstream port. The upstream network hub/switch is connected to a processor to provide a communication connection to the cloud computing resources and a local display 217. Communication to the cloud 204 may be made either through a wired or a wireless communication channel.

The surgical hub 206 employs a non-contact sensor module 242 to measure the dimensions of the operating theater and generate a map of the surgical theater using either ultrasonic or laser-type non-contact measurement devices. An ultrasound-based non-contact sensor module scans the operating theater by transmitting a burst of ultrasound and receiving the echo when it bounces off the perimeter walls of an operating theater as described under the heading “Surgical Hub Spatial Awareness Within an Operating Room” in U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/611,341, titled INTERACTIVE SURGICAL PLATFORM, filed Dec. 28, 2017, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, in which the sensor module is configured to determine the size of the operating theater and to adjust Bluetooth-pairing distance limits. A laser-based non-contact sensor module scans the operating theater by transmitting laser light pulses, receiving laser light pulses that bounce off the perimeter walls of the operating theater, and comparing the phase of the transmitted pulse to the received pulse to determine the size of the operating theater and to adjust Bluetooth pairing distance limits, for example.

The computer system 210 comprises a processor 244 and a network interface 245. The processor 244 is coupled to a communication module 247, storage 248, memory 249, non-volatile memory 250, and input/output interface 251 via a system bus. The system bus can be any of several types of bus structure(s) including the memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus or external bus, and/or a local bus using any variety of available bus architectures including, but not limited to, 9-bit bus, Industrial Standard Architecture (ISA), Micro-Charmel Architecture (MSA), Extended ISA (EISA), Intelligent Drive Electronics (IDE), VESA Local Bus (VLB), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI), USB, Advanced Graphics Port (AGP), Personal Computer Memory Card International Association bus (PCMCIA), Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI), or any other proprietary bus.

The processor 244 may be any single-core or multicore processor such as those known under the trade name ARM Cortex by Texas Instruments. In one aspect, the processor may be an LM4F230H5QR ARM Cortex-M4F Processor Core, available from Texas Instruments, for example, comprising an on-chip memory of 256 KB single-cycle flash memory, or other non-volatile memory, up to 40 MHz, a prefetch buffer to improve performance above 40 MHz, a 32 KB single-cycle serial random access memory (SRAM), an internal read-only memory (ROM) loaded with StellarisWare® software, a 2 KB electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), and/or one or more pulse width modulation (PWM) modules, one or more quadrature encoder inputs (QEI) analogs, one or more 12-bit analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) with 12 analog input channels, details of which are available for the product datasheet.

In one aspect, the processor 244 may comprise a safety controller comprising two controller-based families such as TMS570 and RM4x, known under the trade name Hercules ARM Cortex R4, also by Texas Instruments. The safety controller may be configured specifically for IEC 61508 and ISO 26262 safety critical applications, among others, to provide advanced integrated safety features while delivering scalable performance, connectivity, and memory options.

The system memory includes volatile memory and non-volatile memory. The basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines to transfer information between elements within the computer system, such as during start-up, is stored in non-volatile memory. For example, the non-volatile memory can include ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), EEPROM, or flash memory. Volatile memory includes random-access memory (RAM), which acts as external cache memory. Moreover, RAM is available in many forms such as SRAM, dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM).

The computer system 210 also includes removable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer storage media, such as for example disk storage. The disk storage includes, but is not limited to, devices like a magnetic disk drive, floppy disk drive, tape drive, Jaz drive, Zip drive, LS-60 drive, flash memory card, or memory stick. In addition, the disk storage can include storage media separately or in combination with other storage media including, but not limited to, an optical disc drive such as a compact disc ROM device (CD-ROM), compact disc recordable drive (CD-R Drive), compact disc rewritable drive (CD-RW Drive), or a digital versatile disc ROM drive (DVD-ROM). To facilitate the connection of the disk storage devices to the system bus, a removable or non-removable interface may be employed.

It is to be appreciated that the computer system 210 includes software that acts as an intermediary between users and the basic computer resources described in a suitable operating environment. Such software includes an operating system. The operating system, which can be stored on the disk storage, acts to control and allocate resources of the computer system. System applications take advantage of the management of resources by the operating system through program modules and program data stored either in the system memory or on the disk storage. It is to be appreciated that various components described herein can be implemented with various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

A user enters commands or information into the computer system 210 through input device(s) coupled to the I/O interface 251. The input devices include, but are not limited to, a pointing device such as a mouse, trackball, stylus, touch pad, keyboard, microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, TV tuner card, digital camera, digital video camera, web camera, and the like. These and other input devices connect to the processor through the system bus via interface port(s). The interface port(s) include, for example, a serial port, a parallel port, a game port, and a USB. The output device(s) use some of the same types of ports as input device(s). Thus, for example, a USB port may be used to provide input to the computer system and to output information from the computer system to an output device. An output adapter is provided to illustrate that there are some output devices like monitors, displays, speakers, and printers, among other output devices that require special adapters. The output adapters include, by way of illustration and not limitation, video and sound cards that provide a means of connection between the output device and the system bus. It should be noted that other devices and/or systems of devices, such as remote computer(s), provide both input and output capabilities.

The computer system 210 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as cloud computer(s), or local computers. The remote cloud computer(s) can be a personal computer, server, router, network PC, workstation, microprocessor-based appliance, peer device, or other common network node, and the like, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to the computer system. For purposes of brevity, only a memory storage device is illustrated with the remote computer(s). The remote computer(s) is logically connected to the computer system through a network interface and then physically connected via a communication connection. The network interface encompasses communication networks such as local area networks (LANs) and wide area networks (WANs). LAN technologies include Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Copper Distributed Data Interface (CDDI), Ethernet/IEEE 802.3, Token Ring/IEEE 802.5 and the like. WAN technologies include, but are not limited to, point-to-point links, circuit-switching networks like Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDN) and variations thereon, packet-switching networks, and Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL).

In various aspects, the computer system 210 of FIG. 10, the imaging module 238 and/or visualization system 208, and/or the processor module 232 of FIGS. 9-10, may comprise an image processor, image-processing engine, media processor, or any specialized digital signal processor (DSP) used for the processing of digital images. The image processor may employ parallel computing with single instruction, multiple data (SIMD) or multiple instruction, multiple data (MIMD) technologies to increase speed and efficiency. The digital image-processing engine can perform a range of tasks. The image processor may be a system on a chip with multicore processor architecture.

The communication connection(s) refers to the hardware/software employed to connect the network interface to the bus. While the communication connection is shown for illustrative clarity inside the computer system, it can also be external to the computer system 210. The hardware/software necessary for connection to the network interface includes, for illustrative purposes only, internal and external technologies such as modems, including regular telephone-grade modems, cable modems, and DSL modems, ISDN adapters, and Ethernet cards.

FIG. 11 illustrates a functional block diagram of one aspect of a USB network hub 300 device, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. In the illustrated aspect, the USB network hub device 300 employs a TUSB2036 integrated circuit hub by Texas Instruments. The USB network hub 300 is a CMOS device that provides an upstream USB transceiver port 302 and up to three downstream USB transceiver ports 304, 306, 308 in compliance with the USB 2.0 specification. The upstream USB transceiver port 302 is a differential root data port comprising a differential data minus (DM0) input paired with a differential data plus (DP0) input. The three downstream USB transceiver ports 304, 306, 308 are differential data ports where each port includes differential data plus (DP1-DP3) outputs paired with differential data minus (DM1-DM3) outputs.

The USB network hub 300 device is implemented with a digital state machine instead of a microcontroller, and no firmware programming is required. Fully compliant USB transceivers are integrated into the circuit for the upstream USB transceiver port 302 and all downstream USB transceiver ports 304, 306, 308. The downstream USB transceiver ports 304, 306, 308 support both full-speed and low-speed devices by automatically setting the slew rate according to the speed of the device attached to the ports. The USB network hub 300 device may be configured either in bus-powered or self-powered mode and includes a hub power logic 312 to manage power.

The USB network hub 300 device includes a serial interface engine 310 (SIE). The SIE 310 is the front end of the USB network hub 300 hardware and handles most of the protocol described in chapter 8 of the USB specification. The SIE 310 typically comprehends signaling up to the transaction level. The functions that it handles could include: packet recognition, transaction sequencing, SOP, EOP, RESET, and RESUME signal detection/generation, clock/data separation, non-return-to-zero invert (NRZI) data encoding/decoding and bit-stuffing, CRC generation and checking (token and data), packet ID (PID) generation and checking/decoding, and/or serial-parallel/parallel-serial conversion. The 310 receives a clock input 314 and is coupled to a suspend/resume logic and frame timer 316 circuit and a hub repeater circuit 318 to control communication between the upstream USB transceiver port 302 and the downstream USB transceiver ports 304, 306, 308 through port logic circuits 320, 322, 324. The SIE 310 is coupled to a command decoder 326 via interface logic to control commands from a serial EEPROM via a serial EEPROM interface 330.

In various aspects, the USB network hub 300 can connect 127 functions configured in up to six logical layers (tiers) to a single computer. Further, the USB network hub 300 can connect to all peripherals using a standardized four-wire cable that provides both communication and power distribution. The power configurations are bus-powered and self-powered modes. The USB network hub 300 may be configured to support four modes of power management: a bus-powered hub, with either individual-port power management or ganged-port power management, and the self-powered hub, with either individual-port power management or ganged-port power management. In one aspect, using a USB cable, the USB network hub 300, the upstream USB transceiver port 302 is plugged into a USB host controller, and the downstream USB transceiver ports 304, 306, 308 are exposed for connecting USB compatible devices, and so forth.

Surgical Instrument Hardware

FIG. 12 illustrates a logic diagram of a control system 470 of a surgical instrument or tool in accordance with one or more aspects of the present disclosure. The system 470 comprises a control circuit. The control circuit includes a microcontroller 461 comprising a processor 462 and a memory 468. One or more of sensors 472, 474, 476, for example, provide real-time feedback to the processor 462. A motor 482, driven by a motor driver 492, operably couples a longitudinally movable displacement member to drive the I-beam knife element. A tracking system 480 is configured to determine the position of the longitudinally movable displacement member. The position information is provided to the processor 462, which can be programmed or configured to determine the position of the longitudinally movable drive member as well as the position of a firing member, firing bar, and I-beam knife element. Additional motors may be provided at the tool driver interface to control I-beam firing, closure tube travel, shaft rotation, and articulation. A display 473 displays a variety of operating conditions of the instruments and may include touch screen functionality for data input. Information displayed on the display 473 may be overlaid with images acquired via endoscopic imaging modules.

In one aspect, the microcontroller 461 may be any single-core or multicore processor such as those known under the trade name ARM Cortex by Texas Instruments. In one aspect, the main microcontroller 461 may be an LM4F230H5QR ARM Cortex-M4F Processor Core, available from Texas Instruments, for example, comprising an on-chip memory of 256 KB single-cycle flash memory, or other non-volatile memory, up to 40 MHz, a prefetch buffer to improve performance above 40 MHz, a 32 KB single-cycle SRAM, and internal ROM loaded with StellarisWare® software, a 2 KB EEPROM, one or more PWM modules, one or more QEI analogs, and/or one or more 12-bit ADCs with 12 analog input channels, details of which are available for the product datasheet.

In one aspect, the microcontroller 461 may comprise a safety controller comprising two controller-based families such as TMS570 and RM4x, known under the trade name Hercules ARM Cortex R4, also by Texas Instruments. The safety controller may be configured specifically for IEC 61508 and ISO 26262 safety critical applications, among others, to provide advanced integrated safety features while delivering scalable performance, connectivity, and memory options.

The microcontroller 461 may be programmed to perform various functions such as precise control over the speed and position of the knife and articulation systems. In one aspect, the microcontroller 461 includes a processor 462 and a memory 468. The electric motor 482 may be a brushed direct current (DC) motor with a gearbox and mechanical links to an articulation or knife system. In one aspect, a motor driver 492 may be an A3941 available from Allegro Microsystems, Inc. Other motor drivers may be readily substituted for use in the tracking system 480 comprising an absolute positioning system. A detailed description of an absolute positioning system is described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0296213, titled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING A SURGICAL STAPLING AND CUTTING INSTRUMENT, which published on Oct. 19, 2017, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The microcontroller 461 may be programmed to provide precise control over the speed and position of displacement members and articulation systems. The microcontroller 461 may be configured to compute a response in the software of the microcontroller 461. The computed response is compared to a measured response of the actual system to obtain an “observed” response, which is used for actual feedback decisions. The observed response is a favorable, tuned value that balances the smooth, continuous nature of the simulated response with the measured response, which can detect outside influences on the system.

In one aspect, the motor 482 may be controlled by the motor driver 492 and can be employed by the firing system of the surgical instrument or tool. In various forms, the motor 482 may be a brushed DC driving motor having a maximum rotational speed of approximately 25,000 RPM. In other arrangements, the motor 482 may include a brushless motor, a cordless motor, a synchronous motor, a stepper motor, or any other suitable electric motor. The motor driver 492 may comprise an H-bridge driver comprising field-effect transistors (FETs), for example. The motor 482 can be powered by a power assembly releasably mounted to the handle assembly or tool housing for supplying control power to the surgical instrument or tool. The power assembly may comprise a battery which may include a number of battery cells connected in series that can be used as the power source to power the surgical instrument or tool. In certain circumstances, the battery cells of the power assembly may be replaceable and/or rechargeable. In at least one example, the battery cells can be lithium-ion batteries which can be couplable to and separable from the power assembly.

The motor driver 492 may be an A3941 available from Allegro Microsystems, Inc. The A3941 492 is a full-bridge controller for use with external N-channel power metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) specifically designed for inductive loads, such as brush DC motors. The driver 492 comprises a unique charge pump regulator that provides full (>10 V) gate drive for battery voltages down to 7 V and allows the A3941 to operate with a reduced gate drive, down to 5.5 V. A bootstrap capacitor may be employed to provide the above battery supply voltage required for N-channel MOSFETs. An internal charge pump for the high-side drive allows DC (100% duty cycle) operation. The full bridge can be driven in fast or slow decay modes using diode or synchronous rectification. In the slow decay mode, current recirculation can be through the high-side or the lowside FETs. The power FETs are protected from shoot-through by resistor-adjustable dead time. Integrated diagnostics provide indications of undervoltage, overtemperature, and power bridge faults and can be configured to protect the power MOSFETs under most short circuit conditions. Other motor drivers may be readily substituted for use in the tracking system 480 comprising an absolute positioning system.

The tracking system 480 comprises a controlled motor drive circuit arrangement comprising a position sensor 472 according to one aspect of this disclosure. The position sensor 472 for an absolute positioning system provides a unique position signal corresponding to the location of a displacement member. In one aspect, the displacement member represents a longitudinally movable drive member comprising a rack of drive teeth for meshing engagement with a corresponding drive gear of a gear reducer assembly. In other aspects, the displacement member represents the firing member, which could be adapted and configured to include a rack of drive teeth. In yet another aspect, the displacement member represents a firing bar or the I-beam, each of which can be adapted and configured to include a rack of drive teeth. Accordingly, as used herein, the term displacement member is used generically to refer to any movable member of the surgical instrument or tool such as the drive member, the firing member, the firing bar, the I-beam, or any element that can be displaced. In one aspect, the longitudinally movable drive member is coupled to the firing member, the firing bar, and the I-beam. Accordingly, the absolute positioning system can, in effect, track the linear displacement of the I-beam by tracking the linear displacement of the longitudinally movable drive member. In various other aspects, the displacement member may be coupled to any position sensor 472 suitable for measuring linear displacement. Thus, the longitudinally movable drive member, the firing member, the firing bar, or the I-beam, or combinations thereof, may be coupled to any suitable linear displacement sensor. Linear displacement sensors may include contact or non-contact displacement sensors. Linear displacement sensors may comprise linear variable differential transformers (LVDT), differential variable reluctance transducers (DVRT), a slide potentiometer, a magnetic sensing system comprising a movable magnet and a series of linearly arranged Hall effect sensors, a magnetic sensing system comprising a fixed magnet and a series of movable, linearly arranged Hall effect sensors, an optical sensing system comprising a movable light source and a series of linearly arranged photo diodes or photo detectors, an optical sensing system comprising a fixed light source and a series of movable linearly, arranged photo diodes or photo detectors, or any combination thereof.

The electric motor 482 can include a rotatable shaft that operably interfaces with a gear assembly that is mounted in meshing engagement with a set, or rack, of drive teeth on the displacement member. A sensor element may be operably coupled to a gear assembly such that a single revolution of the position sensor 472 element corresponds to some linear longitudinal translation of the displacement member. An arrangement of gearing and sensors can be connected to the linear actuator, via a rack and pinion arrangement, or a rotary actuator, via a spur gear or other connection. A power source supplies power to the absolute positioning system and an output indicator may display the output of the absolute positioning system. The displacement member represents the longitudinally movable drive member comprising a rack of drive teeth formed thereon for meshing engagement with a corresponding drive gear of the gear reducer assembly. The displacement member represents the longitudinally movable firing member, firing bar, I-beam, or combinations thereof.

A single revolution of the sensor element associated with the position sensor 472 is equivalent to a longitudinal linear displacement d1 of the of the displacement member, where d1 is the longitudinal linear distance that the displacement member moves from point “a” to point “b” after a single revolution of the sensor element coupled to the displacement member. The sensor arrangement may be connected via a gear reduction that results in the position sensor 472 completing one or more revolutions for the full stroke of the displacement member. The position sensor 472 may complete multiple revolutions for the full stroke of the displacement member.

A series of switches, where n is an integer greater than one, may be employed alone or in combination with a gear reduction to provide a unique position signal for more than one revolution of the position sensor 472. The state of the switches are fed back to the microcontroller 461 that applies logic to determine a unique position signal corresponding to the longitudinal linear displacement d1+d2+ . . . dn of the displacement member. The output of the position sensor 472 is provided to the microcontroller 461. The position sensor 472 of the sensor arrangement may comprise a magnetic sensor, an analog rotary sensor like a potentiometer, or an array of analog Hall-effect elements, which output a unique combination of position signals or values.

The position sensor 472 may comprise any number of magnetic sensing elements, such as, for example, magnetic sensors classified according to whether they measure the total magnetic field or the vector components of the magnetic field. The techniques used to produce both types of magnetic sensors encompass many aspects of physics and electronics. The technologies used for magnetic field sensing include search coil, fluxgate, optically pumped, nuclear precession, SQUID, Hall-effect, anisotropic magnetoresistance, giant magnetoresistance, magnetic tunnel junctions, giant magnetoimpedance, magnetostrictive/piezoelectric composites, magnetodiode, magnetotransistor, fiber-optic, magneto-optic, and microelectromechanical systems-based magnetic sensors, among others.

In one aspect, the position sensor 472 for the tracking system 480 comprising an absolute positioning system comprises a magnetic rotary absolute positioning system. The position sensor 472 may be implemented as an AS5055EQFT single-chip magnetic rotary position sensor available from Austria Microsystems, AG. The position sensor 472 is interfaced with the microcontroller 461 to provide an absolute positioning system. The position sensor 472 is a low-voltage and low-power component and includes four Hall-effect elements in an area of the position sensor 472 that is located above a magnet. A high-resolution ADC and a smart power management controller are also provided on the chip. A coordinate rotation digital computer (CORDIC) processor, also known as the digit-by-digit method and Volder's algorithm, is provided to implement a simple and efficient algorithm to calculate hyperbolic and trigonometric functions that require only addition, subtraction, bitshift, and table lookup operations. The angle position, alarm bits, and magnetic field information are transmitted over a standard serial communication interface, such as a serial peripheral interface (SPI) interface, to the microcontroller 461. The position sensor 472 provides 12 or 14 bits of resolution. The position sensor 472 may be an AS5055 chip provided in a small QFN 16-pin 4×4×0.85 mm package.

The tracking system 480 comprising an absolute positioning system may comprise and/or be programmed to implement a feedback controller, such as a PID, state feedback, and adaptive controller. A power source converts the signal from the feedback controller into a physical input to the system: in this case the voltage. Other examples include a PWM of the voltage, current, and force. Other sensor(s) may be provided to measure physical parameters of the physical system in addition to the position measured by the position sensor 472. In some aspects, the other sensor(s) can include sensor arrangements such as those described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,345,481, titled STAPLE CARTRIDGE TISSUE THICKNESS SENSOR SYSTEM, which issued on May 24, 2016, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0263552, titled STAPLE CARTRIDGE TISSUE THICKNESS SENSOR SYSTEM, which published on Sep. 18, 2014, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/628,175, titled TECHNIQUES FOR ADAPTIVE CONTROL OF MOTOR VELOCITY OF A SURGICAL STAPLING AND CUTTING INSTRUMENT, filed Jun. 20, 2017, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In a digital signal processing system, an absolute positioning system is coupled to a digital data acquisition system where the output of the absolute positioning system will have a finite resolution and sampling frequency. The absolute positioning system may comprise a compare-and-combine circuit to combine a computed response with a measured response using algorithms, such as a weighted average and a theoretical control loop, that drive the computed response towards the measured response. The computed response of the physical system takes into account properties like mass, inertial, viscous friction, inductance resistance, etc., to predict what the states and outputs of the physical system will be by knowing the input.

The absolute positioning system provides an absolute position of the displacement member upon power-up of the instrument, without retracting or advancing the displacement member to a reset (zero or home) position as may be required with conventional rotary encoders that merely count the number of steps forwards or backwards that the motor 482 has taken to infer the position of a device actuator, drive bar, knife, or the like.

A sensor 474, such as, for example, a strain gauge or a micro-strain gauge, is configured to measure one or more parameters of the end effector, such as, for example, the amplitude of the strain exerted on the anvil during a clamping operation, which can be indicative of the closure forces applied to the anvil. The measured strain is converted to a digital signal and provided to the processor 462. Alternatively, or in addition to the sensor 474, a sensor 476, such as, for example, a load sensor, can measure the closure force applied by the closure drive system to the anvil. The sensor 476, such as, for example, a load sensor, can measure the firing force applied to an I-beam in a firing stroke of the surgical instrument or tool. The I-beam is configured to engage a wedge sled, which is configured to upwardly cam staple drivers to force out staples into deforming contact with an anvil. The I-beam also includes a sharpened cutting edge that can be used to sever tissue as the I-beam is advanced distally by the firing bar. Alternatively, a current sensor 478 can be employed to measure the current drawn by the motor 482. The force required to advance the firing member can correspond to the current drawn by the motor 482, for example. The measured force is converted to a digital signal and provided to the processor 462.

In one form, the strain gauge sensor 474 can be used to measure the force applied to the tissue by the end effector. A strain gauge can be coupled to the end effector to measure the force on the tissue being treated by the end effector. A system for measuring forces applied to the tissue grasped by the end effector comprises a strain gauge sensor 474, such as, for example, a micro-strain gauge, that is configured to measure one or more parameters of the end effector, for example. In one aspect, the strain gauge sensor 474 can measure the amplitude or magnitude of the strain exerted on a jaw member of an end effector during a clamping operation, which can be indicative of the tissue compression. The measured strain is converted to a digital signal and provided to a processor 462 of the microcontroller 461. A load sensor 476 can measure the force used to operate the knife element, for example, to cut the tissue captured between the anvil and the staple cartridge. A magnetic field sensor can be employed to measure the thickness of the captured tissue. The measurement of the magnetic field sensor also may be converted to a digital signal and provided to the processor 462.

The measurements of the tissue compression, the tissue thickness, and/or the force required to close the end effector on the tissue, as respectively measured by the sensors 474, 476, can be used by the microcontroller 461 to characterize the selected position of the firing member and/or the corresponding value of the speed of the firing member. In one instance, a memory 468 may store a technique, an equation, and/or a lookup table which can be employed by the microcontroller 461 in the assessment.

The control system 470 of the surgical instrument or tool also may comprise wired or wireless communication circuits to communicate with the modular communication hub as shown in FIGS. 8-11.

FIG. 13 illustrates a control circuit 500 configured to control aspects of the surgical instrument or tool according to one aspect of this disclosure. The control circuit 500 can be configured to implement various processes described herein. The control circuit 500 may comprise a microcontroller comprising one or more processors 502 (e.g., microprocessor, microcontroller) coupled to at least one memory circuit 504. The memory circuit 504 stores machine-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor 502, cause the processor 502 to execute machine instructions to implement various processes described herein. The processor 502 may be any one of a number of single-core or multicore processors known in the art. The memory circuit 504 may comprise volatile and non-volatile storage media. The processor 502 may include an instruction processing unit 506 and an arithmetic unit 508. The instruction processing unit may be configured to receive instructions from the memory circuit 504 of this disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates a combinational logic circuit 510 configured to control aspects of the surgical instrument or tool according to one aspect of this disclosure. The combinational logic circuit 510 can be configured to implement various processes described herein. The combinational logic circuit 510 may comprise a finite state machine comprising a combinational logic 512 configured to receive data associated with the surgical instrument or tool at an input 514, process the data by the combinational logic 512, and provide an output 516.

FIG. 15 illustrates a sequential logic circuit 520 configured to control aspects of the surgical instrument or tool according to one aspect of this disclosure. The sequential logic circuit 520 or the combinational logic 522 can be configured to implement various processes described herein. The sequential logic circuit 520 may comprise a finite state machine. The sequential logic circuit 520 may comprise a combinational logic 522, at least one memory circuit 524, and a clock 529, for example. The at least one memory circuit 524 can store a current state of the finite state machine. In certain instances, the sequential logic circuit 520 may be synchronous or asynchronous. The combinational logic 522 is configured to receive data associated with the surgical instrument or tool from an input 526, process the data by the combinational logic 522, and provide an output 528. In other aspects, the circuit may comprise a combination of a processor (e.g., processor 502, FIG. 13) and a finite state machine to implement various processes herein. In other aspects, the finite state machine may comprise a combination of a combinational logic circuit (e.g., combinational logic circuit 510, FIG. 14) and the sequential logic circuit 520.

FIG. 16 illustrates a surgical instrument or tool comprising a plurality of motors which can be activated to perform various functions. In certain instances, a first motor can be activated to perform a first function, a second motor can be activated to perform a second function, a third motor can be activated to perform a third function, a fourth motor can be activated to perform a fourth function, and so on. In certain instances, the plurality of motors of robotic surgical instrument 600 can be individually activated to cause firing, closure, and/or articulation motions in the end effector. The firing, closure, and/or articulation motions can be transmitted to the end effector through a shaft assembly, for example.

In certain instances, the surgical instrument system or tool may include a firing motor 602. The firing motor 602 may be operably coupled to a firing motor drive assembly 604 which can be configured to transmit firing motions, generated by the motor 602 to the end effector, in particular to displace the I-beam element. In certain instances, the firing motions generated by the motor 602 may cause the staples to be deployed from the staple cartridge into tissue captured by the end effector and/or the cutting edge of the I-beam element to be advanced to cut the captured tissue, for example. The I-beam element may be retracted by reversing the direction of the motor 602.

In certain instances, the surgical instrument or tool may include a closure motor 603. The closure motor 603 may be operably coupled to a closure motor drive assembly 605 which can be configured to transmit closure motions, generated by the motor 603 to the end effector, in particular to displace a closure tube to close the anvil and compress tissue between the anvil and the staple cartridge. The closure motions may cause the end effector to transition from an open configuration to an approximated configuration to capture tissue, for example. The end effector may be transitioned to an open position by reversing the direction of the motor 603.

In certain instances, the surgical instrument or tool may include one or more articulation motors 606 a, 606 b, for example. The motors 606 a, 606 b may be operably coupled to respective articulation motor drive assemblies 608 a, 608 b, which can be configured to transmit articulation motions generated by the motors 606 a, 606 b to the end effector. In certain instances, the articulation motions may cause the end effector to articulate relative to the shaft, for example.

As described above, the surgical instrument or tool may include a plurality of motors which may be configured to perform various independent functions. In certain instances, the plurality of motors of the surgical instrument or tool can be individually or separately activated to perform one or more functions while the other motors remain inactive. For example, the articulation motors 606 a, 606 b can be activated to cause the end effector to be articulated while the firing motor 602 remains inactive. Alternatively, the firing motor 602 can be activated to fire the plurality of staples, and/or to advance the cutting edge, while the articulation motor 606 remains inactive. Furthermore, the closure motor 603 may be activated simultaneously with the firing motor 602 to cause the closure tube and the I-beam element to advance distally as described in more detail hereinbelow.

In certain instances, the surgical instrument or tool may include a common control module 610 which can be employed with a plurality of motors of the surgical instrument or tool. In certain instances, the common control module 610 may accommodate one of the plurality of motors at a time. For example, the common control module 610 can be couplable to and separable from the plurality of motors of the robotic surgical instrument individually. In certain instances, a plurality of the motors of the surgical instrument or tool may share one or more common control modules such as the common control module 610. In certain instances, a plurality of motors of the surgical instrument or tool can be individually and selectively engaged with the common control module 610. In certain instances, the common control module 610 can be selectively switched from interfacing with one of a plurality of motors of the surgical instrument or tool to interfacing with another one of the plurality of motors of the surgical instrument or tool.

In at least one example, the common control module 610 can be selectively switched between operable engagement with the articulation motors 606 a, 606 b and operable engagement with either the firing motor 602 or the closure motor 603. In at least one example, as illustrated in FIG. 16, a switch 614 can be moved or transitioned between a plurality of positions and/or states. In a first position 616, the switch 614 may electrically couple the common control module 610 to the firing motor 602; in a second position 617, the switch 614 may electrically couple the common control module 610 to the closure motor 603; in a third position 618 a, the switch 614 may electrically couple the common control module 610 to the first articulation motor 606 a; and in a fourth position 618 b, the switch 614 may electrically couple the common control module 610 to the second articulation motor 606 b, for example. In certain instances, separate common control modules 610 can be electrically coupled to the firing motor 602, the closure motor 603, and the articulations motor 606 a, 606 b at the same time. In certain instances, the switch 614 may be a mechanical switch, an electromechanical switch, a solid-state switch, or any suitable switching mechanism.

Each of the motors 602, 603, 606 a, 606 b may comprise a torque sensor to measure the output torque on the shaft of the motor. The force on an end effector may be sensed in any conventional manner, such as by force sensors on the outer sides of the jaws or by a torque sensor for the motor actuating the jaws.

In various instances, as illustrated in FIG. 16, the common control module 610 may comprise a motor driver 626 which may comprise one or more H-Bridge FETs. The motor driver 626 may modulate the power transmitted from a power source 628 to a motor coupled to the common control module 610 based on input from a microcontroller 620 (the “controller”), for example. In certain instances, the microcontroller 620 can be employed to determine the current drawn by the motor, for example, while the motor is coupled to the common control module 610, as described above.

In certain instances, the microcontroller 620 may include a microprocessor 622 (the “processor”) and one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediums or memory units 624 (the “memory”). In certain instances, the memory 624 may store various program instructions, which when executed may cause the processor 622 to perform a plurality of functions and/or calculations described herein. In certain instances, one or more of the memory units 624 may be coupled to the processor 622, for example.

In certain instances, the power source 628 can be employed to supply power to the microcontroller 620, for example. In certain instances, the power source 628 may comprise a battery (or “battery pack” or “power pack”), such as a lithium-ion battery, for example. In certain instances, the battery pack may be configured to be releasably mounted to a handle for supplying power to the surgical instrument 600. A number of battery cells connected in series may be used as the power source 628. In certain instances, the power source 628 may be replaceable and/or rechargeable, for example.

In various instances, the processor 622 may control the motor driver 626 to control the position, direction of rotation, and/or velocity of a motor that is coupled to the common control module 610. In certain instances, the processor 622 can signal the motor driver 626 to stop and/or disable a motor that is coupled to the common control module 610. It should be understood that the term “processor” as used herein includes any suitable microprocessor, microcontroller, or other basic computing device that incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit (CPU) on an integrated circuit or, at most, a few integrated circuits. The processor is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and provides results as output. It is an example of sequential digital logic, as it has internal memory. Processors operate on numbers and symbols represented in the binary numeral system.

In one instance, the processor 622 may be any single-core or multicore processor such as those known under the trade name ARM Cortex by Texas Instruments. In certain instances, the microcontroller 620 may be an LM 4F230H5QR, available from Texas Instruments, for example. In at least one example, the Texas Instruments LM4F230H5QR is an ARM Cortex-M4F Processor Core comprising an on-chip memory of 256 KB single-cycle flash memory, or other non-volatile memory, up to 40 MHz, a prefetch buffer to improve performance above 40 MHz, a 32 KB single-cycle SRAM, an internal ROM loaded with StellarisWare® software, a 2 KB EEPROM, one or more PWM modules, one or more QEI analogs, one or more 12-bit ADCs with 12 analog input channels, among other features that are readily available for the product datasheet. Other microcontrollers may be readily substituted for use with the module 4410. Accordingly, the present disclosure should not be limited in this context.

In certain instances, the memory 624 may include program instructions for controlling each of the motors of the surgical instrument 600 that are couplable to the common control module 610. For example, the memory 624 may include program instructions for controlling the firing motor 602, the closure motor 603, and the articulation motors 606 a, 606 b. Such program instructions may cause the processor 622 to control the firing, closure, and articulation functions in accordance with inputs from algorithms or control programs of the surgical instrument or tool.

In certain instances, one or more mechanisms and/or sensors such as, for example, sensors 630 can be employed to alert the processor 622 to the program instructions that should be used in a particular setting. For example, the sensors 630 may alert the processor 622 to use the program instructions associated with firing, closing, and articulating the end effector. In certain instances, the sensors 630 may comprise position sensors which can be employed to sense the position of the switch 614, for example. Accordingly, the processor 622 may use the program instructions associated with firing the I-beam of the end effector upon detecting, through the sensors 630 for example, that the switch 614 is in the first position 616; the processor 622 may use the program instructions associated with closing the anvil upon detecting, through the sensors 630 for example, that the switch 614 is in the second position 617; and the processor 622 may use the program instructions associated with articulating the end effector upon detecting, through the sensors 630 for example, that the switch 614 is in the third or fourth position 618 a, 618 b.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a robotic surgical instrument 700 configured to operate a surgical tool described herein according to one aspect of this disclosure. The robotic surgical instrument 700 may be programmed or configured to control distal/proximal translation of a displacement member, distal/proximal displacement of a closure tube, shaft rotation, and articulation, either with single or multiple articulation drive links. In one aspect, the surgical instrument 700 may be programmed or configured to individually control a firing member, a closure member, a shaft member, and/or one or more articulation members. The surgical instrument 700 comprises a control circuit 710 configured to control motor-driven firing members, closure members, shaft members, and/or one or more articulation members.

In one aspect, the robotic surgical instrument 700 comprises a control circuit 710 configured to control an anvil 716 and an I-beam 714 (including a sharp cutting edge) portion of an end effector 702, a removable staple cartridge 718, a shaft 740, and one or more articulation members 742 a, 742 b via a plurality of motors 704 a-704 e. A position sensor 734 may be configured to provide position feedback of the I-beam 714 to the control circuit 710. Other sensors 738 may be configured to provide feedback to the control circuit 710. A timer/counter 731 provides timing and counting information to the control circuit 710. An energy source 712 may be provided to operate the motors 704 a-704 e, and a current sensor 736 provides motor current feedback to the control circuit 710. The motors 704 a-704 e can be operated individually by the control circuit 710 in an open-loop or closed-loop feedback control.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 may comprise one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other suitable processors for executing instructions that cause the processor or processors to perform one or more tasks. In one aspect, a timer/counter 731 provides an output signal, such as the elapsed time or a digital count, to the control circuit 710 to correlate the position of the I-beam 714 as determined by the position sensor 734 with the output of the timer/counter 731 such that the control circuit 710 can determine the position of the I-beam 714 at a specific time (t) relative to a starting position or the time (t) when the I-beam 714 is at a specific position relative to a starting position. The timer/counter 731 may be configured to measure elapsed time, count external events, or time external events.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 may be programmed to control functions of the end effector 702 based on one or more tissue conditions. The control circuit 710 may be programmed to sense tissue conditions, such as thickness, either directly or indirectly, as described herein. The control circuit 710 may be programmed to select a firing control program or closure control program based on tissue conditions. A firing control program may describe the distal motion of the displacement member. Different firing control programs may be selected to better treat different tissue conditions. For example, when thicker tissue is present, the control circuit 710 may be programmed to translate the displacement member at a lower velocity and/or with lower power. When thinner tissue is present, the control circuit 710 may be programmed to translate the displacement member at a higher velocity and/or with higher power. A closure control program may control the closure force applied to the tissue by the anvil 716. Other control programs control the rotation of the shaft 740 and the articulation members 742 a, 742 b.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 may generate motor set point signals. The motor set point signals may be provided to various motor controllers 708 a-708 e. The motor controllers 708 a-708 e may comprise one or more circuits configured to provide motor drive signals to the motors 704 a-704 e to drive the motors 704 a-704 e as described herein. In some examples, the motors 704 a-704 e may be brushed DC electric motors. For example, the velocity of the motors 704 a-704 e may be proportional to the respective motor drive signals. In some examples, the motors 704 a-704 e may be brushless DC electric motors, and the respective motor drive signals may comprise a PWM signal provided to one or more stator windings of the motors 704 a-704 e. Also, in some examples, the motor controllers 708 a-708 e may be omitted and the control circuit 710 may generate the motor drive signals directly.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 may initially operate each of the motors 704 a-704 e in an open-loop configuration for a first open-loop portion of a stroke of the displacement member. Based on the response of the robotic surgical instrument 700 during the open-loop portion of the stroke, the control circuit 710 may select a firing control program in a closed-loop configuration. The response of the instrument may include a translation distance of the displacement member during the open-loop portion, a time elapsed during the open-loop portion, the energy provided to one of the motors 704 a-704 e during the open-loop portion, a sum of pulse widths of a motor drive signal, etc. After the open-loop portion, the control circuit 710 may implement the selected firing control program for a second portion of the displacement member stroke. For example, during a closed-loop portion of the stroke, the control circuit 710 may modulate one of the motors 704 a-704 e based on translation data describing a position of the displacement member in a closed-loop manner to translate the displacement member at a constant velocity.

In one aspect, the motors 704 a-704 e may receive power from an energy source 712. The energy source 712 may be a DC power supply driven by a main alternating current power source, a battery, a super capacitor, or any other suitable energy source. The motors 704 a-704 e may be mechanically coupled to individual movable mechanical elements such as the I-beam 714, anvil 716, shaft 740, articulation 742 a, and articulation 742 b via respective transmissions 706 a-706 e. The transmissions 706 a-706 e may include one or more gears or other linkage components to couple the motors 704 a-704 e to movable mechanical elements. A position sensor 734 may sense a position of the I-beam 714. The position sensor 734 may be or include any type of sensor that is capable of generating position data that indicate a position of the I-beam 714. In some examples, the position sensor 734 may include an encoder configured to provide a series of pulses to the control circuit 710 as the I-beam 714 translates distally and proximally. The control circuit 710 may track the pulses to determine the position of the I-beam 714. Other suitable position sensors may be used, including, for example, a proximity sensor. Other types of position sensors may provide other signals indicating motion of the I-beam 714. Also, in some examples, the position sensor 734 may be omitted. Where any of the motors 704 a-704 e is a stepper motor, the control circuit 710 may track the position of the I-beam 714 by aggregating the number and direction of steps that the motor 704 has been instructed to execute. The position sensor 734 may be located in the end effector 702 or at any other portion of the instrument. The outputs of each of the motors 704 a-704 e include a torque sensor 744 a-744 e to sense force and have an encoder to sense rotation of the drive shaft.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 is configured to drive a firing member such as the I-beam 714 portion of the end effector 702. The control circuit 710 provides a motor set point to a motor control 708 a, which provides a drive signal to the motor 704 a. The output shaft of the motor 704 a is coupled to a torque sensor 744 a. The torque sensor 744 a is coupled to a transmission 706 a which is coupled to the I-beam 714. The transmission 706 a comprises movable mechanical elements such as rotating elements and a firing member to control the movement of the I-beam 714 distally and proximally along a longitudinal axis of the end effector 702. In one aspect, the motor 704 a may be coupled to the knife gear assembly, which includes a knife gear reduction set that includes a first knife drive gear and a second knife drive gear. A torque sensor 744 a provides a firing force feedback signal to the control circuit 710. The firing force signal represents the force required to fire or displace the I-beam 714. A position sensor 734 may be configured to provide the position of the I-beam 714 along the firing stroke or the position of the firing member as a feedback signal to the control circuit 710. The end effector 702 may include additional sensors 738 configured to provide feedback signals to the control circuit 710. When ready to use, the control circuit 710 may provide a firing signal to the motor control 708 a. In response to the firing signal, the motor 704 a may drive the firing member distally along the longitudinal axis of the end effector 702 from a proximal stroke start position to a stroke end position distal to the stroke start position. As the firing member translates distally, an I-beam 714, with a cutting element positioned at a distal end, advances distally to cut tissue located between the staple cartridge 718 and the anvil 716.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 is configured to drive a closure member such as the anvil 716 portion of the end effector 702. The control circuit 710 provides a motor set point to a motor control 708 b, which provides a drive signal to the motor 704 b. The output shaft of the motor 704 b is coupled to a torque sensor 744 b. The torque sensor 744 b is coupled to a transmission 706 b which is coupled to the anvil 716. The transmission 706 b comprises movable mechanical elements such as rotating elements and a closure member to control the movement of the anvil 716 from the open and closed positions. In one aspect, the motor 704 b is coupled to a closure gear assembly, which includes a closure reduction gear set that is supported in meshing engagement with the closure spur gear. The torque sensor 744 b provides a closure force feedback signal to the control circuit 710. The closure force feedback signal represents the closure force applied to the anvil 716. The position sensor 734 may be configured to provide the position of the closure member as a feedback signal to the control circuit 710. Additional sensors 738 in the end effector 702 may provide the closure force feedback signal to the control circuit 710. The pivotable anvil 716 is positioned opposite the staple cartridge 718. When ready to use, the control circuit 710 may provide a closure signal to the motor control 708 b. In response to the closure signal, the motor 704 b advances a closure member to grasp tissue between the anvil 716 and the staple cartridge 718.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 is configured to rotate a shaft member such as the shaft 740 to rotate the end effector 702. The control circuit 710 provides a motor set point to a motor control 708 c, which provides a drive signal to the motor 704 c. The output shaft of the motor 704 c is coupled to a torque sensor 744 c. The torque sensor 744 c is coupled to a transmission 706 c which is coupled to the shaft 740. The transmission 706 c comprises movable mechanical elements such as rotating elements to control the rotation of the shaft 740 clockwise or counterclockwise up to and over 360°. In one aspect, the motor 704 c is coupled to the rotational transmission assembly, which includes a tube gear segment that is formed on (or attached to) the proximal end of the proximal closure tube for operable engagement by a rotational gear assembly that is operably supported on the tool mounting plate. The torque sensor 744 c provides a rotation force feedback signal to the control circuit 710. The rotation force feedback signal represents the rotation force applied to the shaft 740. The position sensor 734 may be configured to provide the position of the closure member as a feedback signal to the control circuit 710. Additional sensors 738 such as a shaft encoder may provide the rotational position of the shaft 740 to the control circuit 710.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 is configured to articulate the end effector 702. The control circuit 710 provides a motor set point to a motor control 708 d, which provides a drive signal to the motor 704 d. The output shaft of the motor 704 d is coupled to a torque sensor 744 d. The torque sensor 744 d is coupled to a transmission 706 d which is coupled to an articulation member 742 a. The transmission 706 d comprises movable mechanical elements such as articulation elements to control the articulation of the end effector 702±65°. In one aspect, the motor 704 d is coupled to an articulation nut, which is rotatably journaled on the proximal end portion of the distal spine portion and is rotatably driven thereon by an articulation gear assembly. The torque sensor 744 d provides an articulation force feedback signal to the control circuit 710. The articulation force feedback signal represents the articulation force applied to the end effector 702. Sensors 738, such as an articulation encoder, may provide the articulation position of the end effector 702 to the control circuit 710.

In another aspect, the articulation function of the robotic surgical system 700 may comprise two articulation members, or links, 742 a, 742 b. These articulation members 742 a, 742 b are driven by separate disks on the robot interface (the rack) which are driven by the two motors 708 d, 708 e. When the separate firing motor 704 a is provided, each of articulation links 742 a, 742 b can be antagonistically driven with respect to the other link in order to provide a resistive holding motion and a load to the head when it is not moving and to provide an articulation motion as the head is articulated. The articulation members 742 a, 742 b attach to the head at a fixed radius as the head is rotated. Accordingly, the mechanical advantage of the push-and-pull link changes as the head is rotated. This change in the mechanical advantage may be more pronounced with other articulation link drive systems.

In one aspect, the one or more motors 704 a-704 e may comprise a brushed DC motor with a gearbox and mechanical links to a firing member, closure member, or articulation member. Another example includes electric motors 704 a-704 e that operate the movable mechanical elements such as the displacement member, articulation links, closure tube, and shaft. An outside influence is an unmeasured, unpredictable influence of things like tissue, surrounding bodies, and friction on the physical system. Such outside influence can be referred to as drag, which acts in opposition to one of electric motors 704 a-704 e. The outside influence, such as drag, may cause the operation of the physical system to deviate from a desired operation of the physical system.

In one aspect, the position sensor 734 may be implemented as an absolute positioning system. In one aspect, the position sensor 734 may comprise a magnetic rotary absolute positioning system implemented as an AS5055EQFT single-chip magnetic rotary position sensor available from Austria Microsystems, AG. The position sensor 734 may interface with the control circuit 710 to provide an absolute positioning system. The position may include multiple Hall-effect elements located above a magnet and coupled to a CORDIC processor, also known as the digit-by-digit method and Volder's algorithm, that is provided to implement a simple and efficient algorithm to calculate hyperbolic and trigonometric functions that require only addition, subtraction, bitshift, and table lookup operations.

In one aspect, the control circuit 710 may be in communication with one or more sensors 738. The sensors 738 may be positioned on the end effector 702 and adapted to operate with the robotic surgical instrument 700 to measure the various derived parameters such as the gap distance versus time, tissue compression versus time, and anvil strain versus time. The sensors 738 may comprise a magnetic sensor, a magnetic field sensor, a strain gauge, a load cell, a pressure sensor, a force sensor, a torque sensor, an inductive sensor such as an eddy current sensor, a resistive sensor, a capacitive sensor, an optical sensor, and/or any other suitable sensor for measuring one or more parameters of the end effector 702. The sensors 738 may include one or more sensors. The sensors 738 may be located on the staple cartridge 718 deck to determine tissue location using segmented electrodes. The torque sensors 744 a-744 e may be configured to sense force such as firing force, closure force, and/or articulation force, among others. Accordingly, the control circuit 710 can sense (1) the closure load experienced by the distal closure tube and its position, (2) the firing member at the rack and its position, (3) what portion of the staple cartridge 718 has tissue on it, and (4) the load and position on both articulation rods.

In one aspect, the one or more sensors 738 may comprise a strain gauge, such as a micro-strain gauge, configured to measure the magnitude of the strain in the anvil 716 during a clamped condition. The strain gauge provides an electrical signal whose amplitude varies with the magnitude of the strain. The sensors 738 may comprise a pressure sensor configured to detect a pressure generated by the presence of compressed tissue between the anvil 716 and the staple cartridge 718. The sensors 738 may be configured to detect impedance of a tissue section located between the anvil 716 and the staple cartridge 718 that is indicative of the thickness and/or fullness of tissue located therebetween.

In one aspect, the sensors 738 may be implemented as one or more limit switches, electromechanical devices, solid-state switches, Hall-effect devices, magneto-resistive (MR) devices, giant magneto-resistive (GMR) devices, magnetometers, among others. In other implementations, the sensors 738 may be implemented as solid-state switches that operate under the influence of light, such as optical sensors, IR sensors, ultraviolet sensors, among others. Still, the switches may be solid-state devices such as transistors (e.g., FET, junction FET, MOSFET, bipolar, and the like). In other implementations, the sensors 738 may include electrical conductorless switches, ultrasonic switches, accelerometers, and inertial sensors, among others.

In one aspect, the sensors 738 may be configured to measure forces exerted on the anvil 716 by the closure drive system. For example, one or more sensors 738 can be at an interaction point between the closure tube and the anvil 716 to detect the closure forces applied by the closure tube to the anvil 716. The forces exerted on the anvil 716 can be representative of the tissue compression experienced by the tissue section captured between the anvil 716 and the staple cartridge 718. The one or more sensors 738 can be positioned at various interaction points along the closure drive system to detect the closure forces applied to the anvil 716 by the closure drive system. The one or more sensors 738 may be sampled in real time during a clamping operation by the processor of the control circuit 710. The control circuit 710 receives real-time sample measurements to provide and analyze time-based information and assess, in real time, closure forces applied to the anvil 716.

In one aspect, a current sensor 736 can be employed to measure the current drawn by each of the motors 704 a-704 e. The force required to advance any of the movable mechanical elements such as the I-beam 714 corresponds to the current drawn by one of the motors 704 a-704 e. The force is converted to a digital signal and provided to the control circuit 710. The control circuit 710 can be configured to simulate the response of the actual system of the instrument in the software of the controller. A displacement member can be actuated to move an I-beam 714 in the end effector 702 at or near a target velocity. The robotic surgical instrument 700 can include a feedback controller, which can be one of any feedback controllers, including, but not limited to a PID, a state feedback, a linear-quadratic (LQR), and/or an adaptive controller, for example. The robotic surgical instrument 700 can include a power source to convert the signal from the feedback controller into a physical input such as case voltage, PWM voltage, frequency modulated voltage, current, torque, and/or force, for example. Additional details are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/636,829, titled CLOSED LOOP VELOCITY CONTROL TECHNIQUES FOR ROBOTIC SURGICAL INSTRUMENT, filed Jun. 29, 2017, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 18 illustrates a block diagram of a surgical instrument 750 programmed to control the distal translation of a displacement member according to one aspect of this disclosure. In one aspect, the surgical instrument 750 is programmed to control the distal translation of a displacement member such as the I-beam 764. The surgical instrument 750 comprises an end effector 752 that may comprise an anvil 766, an I-beam 764 (including a sharp cutting edge), and a removable staple cartridge 768.

The position, movement, displacement, and/or translation of a linear displacement member, such as the I-beam 764, can be measured by an absolute positioning system, sensor arrangement, and position sensor 784. Because the I-beam 764 is coupled to a longitudinally movable drive member, the position of the I-beam 764 can be determined by measuring the position of the longitudinally movable drive member employing the position sensor 784. Accordingly, in the following description, the position, displacement, and/or translation of the I-beam 764 can be achieved by the position sensor 784 as described herein. A control circuit 760 may be programmed to control the translation of the displacement member, such as the I-beam 764. The control circuit 760, in some examples, may comprise one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other suitable processors for executing instructions that cause the processor or processors to control the displacement member, e.g., the I-beam 764, in the manner described. In one aspect, a timer/counter 781 provides an output signal, such as the elapsed time or a digital count, to the control circuit 760 to correlate the position of the I-beam 764 as determined by the position sensor 784 with the output of the timer/counter 781 such that the control circuit 760 can determine the position of the I-beam 764 at a specific time (t) relative to a starting position. The timer/counter 781 may be configured to measure elapsed time, count external events, or time external events.

The control circuit 760 may generate a motor set point signal 772. The motor set point signal 772 may be provided to a motor controller 758. The motor controller 758 may comprise one or more circuits configured to provide a motor drive signal 774 to the motor 754 to drive the motor 754 as described herein. In some examples, the motor 754 may be a brushed DC electric motor. For example, the velocity of the motor 754 may be proportional to the motor drive signal 774. In some examples, the motor 754 may be a brushless DC electric motor and the motor drive signal 774 may comprise a PWM signal provided to one or more stator windings of the motor 754. Also, in some examples, the motor controller 758 may be omitted, and the control circuit 760 may generate the motor drive signal 774 directly.

The motor 754 may receive power from an energy source 762. The energy source 762 may be or include a battery, a super capacitor, or any other suitable energy source. The motor 754 may be mechanically coupled to the I-beam 764 via a transmission 756. The transmission 756 may include one or more gears or other linkage components to couple the motor 754 to the I-beam 764. A position sensor 784 may sense a position of the I-beam 764. The position sensor 784 may be or include any type of sensor that is capable of generating position data that indicate a position of the I-beam 764. In some examples, the position sensor 784 may include an encoder configured to provide a series of pulses to the control circuit 760 as the I-beam 764 translates distally and proximally. The control circuit 760 may track the pulses to determine the position of the I-beam 764. Other suitable position sensors may be used, including, for example, a proximity sensor. Other types of position sensors may provide other signals indicating motion of the I-beam 764. Also, in some examples, the position sensor 784 may be omitted. Where the motor 754 is a stepper motor, the control circuit 760 may track the position of the I-beam 764 by aggregating the number and direction of steps that the motor 754 has been instructed to execute. The position sensor 784 may be located in the end effector 752 or at any other portion of the instrument.

The control circuit 760 may be in communication with one or more sensors 788. The sensors 788 may be positioned on the end effector 752 and adapted to operate with the surgical instrument 750 to measure the various derived parameters such as gap distance versus time, tissue compression versus time, and anvil strain versus time. The sensors 788 may comprise a magnetic sensor, a magnetic field sensor, a strain gauge, a pressure sensor, a force sensor, an inductive sensor such as an eddy current sensor, a resistive sensor, a capacitive sensor, an optical sensor, and/or any other suitable sensor for measuring one or more parameters of the end effector 752. The sensors 788 may include one or more sensors.

The one or more sensors 788 may comprise a strain gauge, such as a micro-strain gauge, configured to measure the magnitude of the strain in the anvil 766 during a clamped condition. The strain gauge provides an electrical signal whose amplitude varies with the magnitude of the strain. The sensors 788 may comprise a pressure sensor configured to detect a pressure generated by the presence of compressed tissue between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768. The sensors 788 may be configured to detect impedance of a tissue section located between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768 that is indicative of the thickness and/or fullness of tissue located therebetween.

The sensors 788 may be is configured to measure forces exerted on the anvil 766 by a closure drive system. For example, one or more sensors 788 can be at an interaction point between a closure tube and the anvil 766 to detect the closure forces applied by a closure tube to the anvil 766. The forces exerted on the anvil 766 can be representative of the tissue compression experienced by the tissue section captured between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768. The one or more sensors 788 can be positioned at various interaction points along the closure drive system to detect the closure forces applied to the anvil 766 by the closure drive system. The one or more sensors 788 may be sampled in real time during a clamping operation by a processor of the control circuit 760. The control circuit 760 receives real-time sample measurements to provide and analyze time-based information and assess, in real time, closure forces applied to the anvil 766.

A current sensor 786 can be employed to measure the current drawn by the motor 754. The force required to advance the I-beam 764 corresponds to the current drawn by the motor 754. The force is converted to a digital signal and provided to the control circuit 760.

The control circuit 760 can be configured to simulate the response of the actual system of the instrument in the software of the controller. A displacement member can be actuated to move an I-beam 764 in the end effector 752 at or near a target velocity. The surgical instrument 750 can include a feedback controller, which can be one of any feedback controllers, including, but not limited to a PID, a state feedback, LQR, and/or an adaptive controller, for example. The surgical instrument 750 can include a power source to convert the signal from the feedback controller into a physical input such as case voltage, PWM voltage, frequency modulated voltage, current, torque, and/or force, for example.

The actual drive system of the surgical instrument 750 is configured to drive the displacement member, cutting member, or I-beam 764, by a brushed DC motor with gearbox and mechanical links to an articulation and/or knife system. Another example is the electric motor 754 that operates the displacement member and the articulation driver, for example, of an interchangeable shaft assembly. An outside influence is an unmeasured, unpredictable influence of things like tissue, surrounding bodies and friction on the physical system. Such outside influence can be referred to as drag which acts in opposition to the electric motor 754. The outside influence, such as drag, may cause the operation of the physical system to deviate from a desired operation of the physical system.

Various example aspects are directed to a surgical instrument 750 comprising an end effector 752 with motor-driven surgical stapling and cutting implements. For example, a motor 754 may drive a displacement member distally and proximally along a longitudinal axis of the end effector 752. The end effector 752 may comprise a pivotable anvil 766 and, when configured for use, a staple cartridge 768 positioned opposite the anvil 766. A clinician may grasp tissue between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768, as described herein. When ready to use the instrument 750, the clinician may provide a firing signal, for example by depressing a trigger of the instrument 750. In response to the firing signal, the motor 754 may drive the displacement member distally along the longitudinal axis of the end effector 752 from a proximal stroke begin position to a stroke end position distal of the stroke begin position. As the displacement member translates distally, an I-beam 764 with a cutting element positioned at a distal end, may cut the tissue between the staple cartridge 768 and the anvil 766.

In various examples, the surgical instrument 750 may comprise a control circuit 760 programmed to control the distal translation of the displacement member, such as the I-beam 764, for example, based on one or more tissue conditions. The control circuit 760 may be programmed to sense tissue conditions, such as thickness, either directly or indirectly, as described herein. The control circuit 760 may be programmed to select a firing control program based on tissue conditions. A firing control program may describe the distal motion of the displacement member. Different firing control programs may be selected to better treat different tissue conditions. For example, when thicker tissue is present, the control circuit 760 may be programmed to translate the displacement member at a lower velocity and/or with lower power. When thinner tissue is present, the control circuit 760 may be programmed to translate the displacement member at a higher velocity and/or with higher power.

In some examples, the control circuit 760 may initially operate the motor 754 in an open loop configuration for a first open loop portion of a stroke of the displacement member. Based on a response of the instrument 750 during the open loop portion of the stroke, the control circuit 760 may select a firing control program. The response of the instrument may include, a translation distance of the displacement member during the open loop portion, a time elapsed during the open loop portion, energy provided to the motor 754 during the open loop portion, a sum of pulse widths of a motor drive signal, etc. After the open loop portion, the control circuit 760 may implement the selected firing control program for a second portion of the displacement member stroke. For example, during the closed loop portion of the stroke, the control circuit 760 may modulate the motor 754 based on translation data describing a position of the displacement member in a closed loop manner to translate the displacement member at a constant velocity. Additional details are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/720,852, titled SYSTEM AND METHODS FOR CONTROLLING A DISPLAY OF A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT, filed Sep. 29, 2017, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram of a surgical instrument 790 configured to control various functions according to one aspect of this disclosure. In one aspect, the surgical instrument 790 is programmed to control distal translation of a displacement member such as the I-beam 764. The surgical instrument 790 comprises an end effector 792 that may comprise an anvil 766, an I-beam 764, and a removable staple cartridge 768 which may be interchanged with an RF cartridge 796 (shown in dashed line).

In one aspect, sensors 788 may be implemented as a limit switch, electromechanical device, solid-state switches, Hall-effect devices, MR devices, GMR devices, magnetometers, among others. In other implementations, the sensors 638 may be solid-state switches that operate under the influence of light, such as optical sensors, IR sensors, ultraviolet sensors, among others. Still, the switches may be solid-state devices such as transistors (e.g., FET, junction FET, MOSFET, bipolar, and the like). In other implementations, the sensors 788 may include electrical conductorless switches, ultrasonic switches, accelerometers, and inertial sensors, among others.

In one aspect, the position sensor 784 may be implemented as an absolute positioning system comprising a magnetic rotary absolute positioning system implemented as an AS5055EQFT single-chip magnetic rotary position sensor available from Austria Microsystems, AG. The position sensor 784 may interface with the control circuit 760 to provide an absolute positioning system. The position may include multiple Hall-effect elements located above a magnet and coupled to a CORDIC processor, also known as the digit-by-digit method and Volder's algorithm, that is provided to implement a simple and efficient algorithm to calculate hyperbolic and trigonometric functions that require only addition, subtraction, bitshift, and table lookup operations.

In one aspect, the I-beam 764 may be implemented as a knife member comprising a knife body that operably supports a tissue cutting blade thereon and may further include anvil engagement tabs or features and channel engagement features or a foot. In one aspect, the staple cartridge 768 may be implemented as a standard (mechanical) surgical fastener cartridge. In one aspect, the RF cartridge 796 may be implemented as an RF cartridge. These and other sensors arrangements are described in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/628,175, titled TECHNIQUES FOR ADAPTIVE CONTROL OF MOTOR VELOCITY OF A SURGICAL STAPLING AND CUTTING INSTRUMENT, filed Jun. 20, 2017, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The position, movement, displacement, and/or translation of a linear displacement member, such as the I-beam 764, can be measured by an absolute positioning system, sensor arrangement, and position sensor represented as position sensor 784. Because the I-beam 764 is coupled to the longitudinally movable drive member, the position of the I-beam 764 can be determined by measuring the position of the longitudinally movable drive member employing the position sensor 784. Accordingly, in the following description, the position, displacement, and/or translation of the I-beam 764 can be achieved by the position sensor 784 as described herein. A control circuit 760 may be programmed to control the translation of the displacement member, such as the I-beam 764, as described herein. The control circuit 760, in some examples, may comprise one or more microcontrollers, microprocessors, or other suitable processors for executing instructions that cause the processor or processors to control the displacement member, e.g., the I-beam 764, in the manner described. In one aspect, a timer/counter 781 provides an output signal, such as the elapsed time or a digital count, to the control circuit 760 to correlate the position of the I-beam 764 as determined by the position sensor 784 with the output of the timer/counter 781 such that the control circuit 760 can determine the position of the I-beam 764 at a specific time (t) relative to a starting position. The timer/counter 781 may be configured to measure elapsed time, count external events, or time external events.

The control circuit 760 may generate a motor set point signal 772. The motor set point signal 772 may be provided to a motor controller 758. The motor controller 758 may comprise one or more circuits configured to provide a motor drive signal 774 to the motor 754 to drive the motor 754 as described herein. In some examples, the motor 754 may be a brushed DC electric motor. For example, the velocity of the motor 754 may be proportional to the motor drive signal 774. In some examples, the motor 754 may be a brushless DC electric motor and the motor drive signal 774 may comprise a PWM signal provided to one or more stator windings of the motor 754. Also, in some examples, the motor controller 758 may be omitted, and the control circuit 760 may generate the motor drive signal 774 directly.

The motor 754 may receive power from an energy source 762. The energy source 762 may be or include a battery, a super capacitor, or any other suitable energy source. The motor 754 may be mechanically coupled to the I-beam 764 via a transmission 756. The transmission 756 may include one or more gears or other linkage components to couple the motor 754 to the I-beam 764. A position sensor 784 may sense a position of the I-beam 764. The position sensor 784 may be or include any type of sensor that is capable of generating position data that indicate a position of the I-beam 764. In some examples, the position sensor 784 may include an encoder configured to provide a series of pulses to the control circuit 760 as the I-beam 764 translates distally and proximally. The control circuit 760 may track the pulses to determine the position of the I-beam 764. Other suitable position sensors may be used, including, for example, a proximity sensor. Other types of position sensors may provide other signals indicating motion of the I-beam 764. Also, in some examples, the position sensor 784 may be omitted. Where the motor 754 is a stepper motor, the control circuit 760 may track the position of the I-beam 764 by aggregating the number and direction of steps that the motor has been instructed to execute. The position sensor 784 may be located in the end effector 792 or at any other portion of the instrument.

The control circuit 760 may be in communication with one or more sensors 788. The sensors 788 may be positioned on the end effector 792 and adapted to operate with the surgical instrument 790 to measure the various derived parameters such as gap distance versus time, tissue compression versus time, and anvil strain versus time. The sensors 788 may comprise a magnetic sensor, a magnetic field sensor, a strain gauge, a pressure sensor, a force sensor, an inductive sensor such as an eddy current sensor, a resistive sensor, a capacitive sensor, an optical sensor, and/or any other suitable sensor for measuring one or more parameters of the end effector 792. The sensors 788 may include one or more sensors.

The one or more sensors 788 may comprise a strain gauge, such as a micro-strain gauge, configured to measure the magnitude of the strain in the anvil 766 during a clamped condition. The strain gauge provides an electrical signal whose amplitude varies with the magnitude of the strain. The sensors 788 may comprise a pressure sensor configured to detect a pressure generated by the presence of compressed tissue between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768. The sensors 788 may be configured to detect impedance of a tissue section located between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768 that is indicative of the thickness and/or fullness of tissue located therebetween.

The sensors 788 may be is configured to measure forces exerted on the anvil 766 by the closure drive system. For example, one or more sensors 788 can be at an interaction point between a closure tube and the anvil 766 to detect the closure forces applied by a closure tube to the anvil 766. The forces exerted on the anvil 766 can be representative of the tissue compression experienced by the tissue section captured between the anvil 766 and the staple cartridge 768. The one or more sensors 788 can be positioned at various interaction points along the closure drive system to detect the closure forces applied to the anvil 766 by the closure drive system. The one or more sensors 788 may be sampled in real time during a clamping operation by a processor portion of the control circuit 760. The control circuit 760 receives real-time sample measurements to provide and analyze time-based information and assess, in real time, closure forces applied to the anvil 766.

A current sensor 786 can be employed to measure the current drawn by the motor 754. The force required to advance the I-beam 764 corresponds to the current drawn by the motor 754. The force is converted to a digital signal and provided to the control circuit 760.

An RF energy source 794 is coupled to the end effector 792 and is applied to the RF cartridge 796 when the RF cartridge 796 is loaded in the end effector 792 in place of the staple cartridge 768. The control circuit 760 controls the delivery of the RF energy to the RF cartridge 796.

Additional details are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/636,096, titled SURGICAL SYSTEM COUPLABLE WITH STAPLE CARTRIDGE AND RADIO FREQUENCY CARTRIDGE, AND METHOD OF USING SAME, filed Jun. 28, 2017, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Generator Hardware

FIG. 20 is a simplified block diagram of a generator 800 configured to provide inductorless tuning, among other benefits. Additional details of the generator 800 are described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,060,775, titled SURGICAL GENERATOR FOR ULTRASONIC AND ELECTROSURGICAL DEVICES, which issued on Jun. 23, 2015, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The generator 800 may comprise a patient isolated stage 802 in communication with a non-isolated stage 804 via a power transformer 806. A secondary winding 808 of the power transformer 806 is contained in the isolated stage 802 and may comprise a tapped configuration (e.g., a center-tapped or a non-center-tapped configuration) to define drive signal outputs 810 a, 810 b, 810 c for delivering drive signals to different surgical instruments, such as, for example, an ultrasonic surgical instrument, an RF electrosurgical instrument, and a multifunction surgical instrument which includes ultrasonic and RF energy modes that can be delivered alone or simultaneously. In particular, drive signal outputs 810 a, 810 c may output an ultrasonic drive signal (e.g., a 420V root-mean-square (RMS) drive signal) to an ultrasonic surgical instrument, and drive signal outputs 810 b, 810 c may output an RF electrosurgical drive signal (e.g., a 100V RMS drive signal) to an RF electrosurgical instrument, with the drive signal output 810 b corresponding to the center tap of the power transformer 806.

In certain forms, the ultrasonic and electrosurgical drive signals may be provided simultaneously to distinct surgical instruments and/or to a single surgical instrument, such as the multifunction surgical instrument, having the capability to deliver both ultrasonic and electrosurgical energy to tissue. It will be appreciated that the electrosurgical signal, provided either to a dedicated electrosurgical instrument and/or to a combined multifunction ultrasonic/electrosurgical instrument may be either a therapeutic or sub-therapeutic level signal where the sub-therapeutic signal can be used, for example, to monitor tissue or instrument conditions and provide feedback to the generator. For example, the ultrasonic and RF signals can be delivered separately or simultaneously from a generator with a single output port in order to provide the desired output signal to the surgical instrument, as will be discussed in more detail below. Accordingly, the generator can combine the ultrasonic and electrosurgical RF energies and deliver the combined energies to the multifunction ultrasonic/electrosurgical instrument. Bipolar electrodes can be placed on one or both jaws of the end effector. One jaw may be driven by ultrasonic energy in addition to electrosurgical RF energy, working simultaneously. The ultrasonic energy may be employed to dissect tissue, while the electrosurgical RF energy may be employed for vessel sealing.

The non-isolated stage 804 may comprise a power amplifier 812 having an output connected to a primary winding 814 of the power transformer 806. In certain forms, the power amplifier 812 may comprise a push-pull amplifier. For example, the non-isolated stage 804 may further comprise a logic device 816 for supplying a digital output to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit 818, which in turn supplies a corresponding analog signal to an input of the power amplifier 812. In certain forms, the logic device 816 may comprise a programmable gate array (PGA), a FPGA, programmable logic device (PLD), among other logic circuits, for example. The logic device 816, by virtue of controlling the input of the power amplifier 812 via the DAC circuit 818, may therefore control any of a number of parameters (e.g., frequency, waveform shape, waveform amplitude) of drive signals appearing at the drive signal outputs 810 a, 810 b, 810 c. In certain forms and as discussed below, the logic device 816, in conjunction with a processor (e.g., a DSP discussed below), may implement a number of DSP-based and/or other control algorithms to control parameters of the drive signals output by the generator 800.

Power may be supplied to a power rail of the power amplifier 812 by a switch-mode regulator 820, e.g., a power converter. In certain forms, the switch-mode regulator 820 may comprise an adjustable buck regulator, for example. The non-isolated stage 804 may further comprise a first processor 822, which in one form may comprise a DSP processor such as an Analog Devices ADSP-21469 SHARC DSP, available from Analog Devices, Norwood, Mass., for example, although in various forms any suitable processor may be employed. In certain forms the DSP processor 822 may control the operation of the switch-mode regulator 820 responsive to voltage feedback data received from the power amplifier 812 by the DSP processor 822 via an ADC circuit 824. In one form, for example, the DSP processor 822 may receive as input, via the ADC circuit 824, the waveform envelope of a signal (e.g., an RF signal) being amplified by the power amplifier 812. The DSP processor 822 may then control the switch-mode regulator 820 (e.g., via a PWM output) such that the rail voltage supplied to the power amplifier 812 tracks the waveform envelope of the amplified signal. By dynamically modulating the rail voltage of the power amplifier 812 based on the waveform envelope, the efficiency of the power amplifier 812 may be significantly improved relative to a fixed rail voltage amplifier schemes.

In certain forms, the logic device 816, in conjunction with the DSP processor 822, may implement a digital synthesis circuit such as a direct digital synthesizer control scheme to control the waveform shape, frequency, and/or amplitude of drive signals output by the generator 800. In one form, for example, the logic device 816 may implement a DDS control algorithm by recalling waveform samples stored in a dynamically updated lookup table (LUT), such as a RAM LUT, which may be embedded in an FPGA. This control algorithm is particularly useful for ultrasonic applications in which an ultrasonic transducer, such as an ultrasonic transducer, may be driven by a clean sinusoidal current at its resonant frequency. Because other frequencies may excite parasitic resonances, minimizing or reducing the total distortion of the motional branch current may correspondingly minimize or reduce undesirable resonance effects. Because the waveform shape of a drive signal output by the generator 800 is impacted by various sources of distortion present in the output drive circuit (e.g., the power transformer 806, the power amplifier 812), voltage and current feedback data based on the drive signal may be input into an algorithm, such as an error control algorithm implemented by the DSP processor 822, which compensates for distortion by suitably pre-distorting or modifying the waveform samples stored in the LUT on a dynamic, ongoing basis (e.g., in real time). In one form, the amount or degree of pre-distortion applied to the LUT samples may be based on the error between a computed motional branch current and a desired current waveform shape, with the error being determined on a sample-by-sample basis. In this way, the pre-distorted LUT samples, when processed through the drive circuit, may result in a motional branch drive signal having the desired waveform shape (e.g., sinusoidal) for optimally driving the ultrasonic transducer. In such forms, the LUT waveform samples will therefore not represent the desired waveform shape of the drive signal, but rather the waveform shape that is required to ultimately produce the desired waveform shape of the motional branch drive signal when distortion effects are taken into account.

The non-isolated stage 804 may further comprise a first ADC circuit 826 and a second ADC circuit 828 coupled to the output of the power transformer 806 via respective isolation transformers 830, 832 for respectively sampling the voltage and current of drive signals output by the generator 800. In certain forms, the ADC circuits 826, 828 may be configured to sample at high speeds (e.g., 80 mega samples per second (MSPS)) to enable oversampling of the drive signals. In one form, for example, the sampling speed of the ADC circuits 826, 828 may enable approximately 200× (depending on frequency) oversampling of the drive signals. In certain forms, the sampling operations of the ADC circuit 826, 828 may be performed by a single ADC circuit receiving input voltage and current signals via a two-way multiplexer. The use of high-speed sampling in forms of the generator 800 may enable, among other things, calculation of the complex current flowing through the motional branch (which may be used in certain forms to implement DDS-based waveform shape control described above), accurate digital filtering of the sampled signals, and calculation of real power consumption with a high degree of precision. Voltage and current feedback data output by the ADC circuits 826, 828 may be received and processed (e.g., first-in-first-out (FIFO) buffer, multiplexer) by the logic device 816 and stored in data memory for subsequent retrieval by, for example, the DSP processor 822. As noted above, voltage and current feedback data may be used as input to an algorithm for pre-distorting or modifying LUT waveform samples on a dynamic and ongoing basis. In certain forms, this may require each stored voltage and current feedback data pair to be indexed based on, or otherwise associated with, a corresponding LUT sample that was output by the logic device 816 when the voltage and current feedback data pair was acquired. Synchronization of the LUT samples and the voltage and current feedback data in this manner contributes to the correct timing and stability of the pre-distortion algorithm.

In certain forms, the voltage and current feedback data may be used to control the frequency and/or amplitude (e.g., current amplitude) of the drive signals. In one form, for example, voltage and current feedback data may be used to determine impedance phase. The frequency of the drive signal may then be controlled to minimize or reduce the difference between the determined impedance phase and an impedance phase setpoint (e.g., 0°), thereby minimizing or reducing the effects of harmonic distortion and correspondingly enhancing impedance phase measurement accuracy. The determination of phase impedance and a frequency control signal may be implemented in the DSP processor 822, for example, with the frequency control signal being supplied as input to a DDS control algorithm implemented by the logic device 816.

In another form, for example, the current feedback data may be monitored in order to maintain the current amplitude of the drive signal at a current amplitude setpoint. The current amplitude setpoint may be specified directly or determined indirectly based on specified voltage amplitude and power setpoints. In certain forms, control of the current amplitude may be implemented by control algorithm, such as, for example, a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control algorithm, in the DSP processor 822. Variables controlled by the control algorithm to suitably control the current amplitude of the drive signal may include, for example, the scaling of the LUT waveform samples stored in the logic device 816 and/or the full-scale output voltage of the DAC circuit 818 (which supplies the input to the power amplifier 812) via a DAC circuit 834.

The non-isolated stage 804 may further comprise a second processor 836 for providing, among other things user interface (UI) functionality. In one form, the UI processor 836 may comprise an Atmel AT91SAM9263 processor having an ARM 926EJ-S core, available from Atmel Corporation, San Jose, Calif., for example. Examples of UI functionality supported by the UI processor 836 may include audible and visual user feedback, communication with peripheral devices (e.g., via a USB interface), communication with a foot switch, communication with an input device (e.g., a touch screen display) and communication with an output device (e.g., a speaker). The UI processor 836 may communicate with the DSP processor 822 and the logic device 816 (e.g., via SPI buses). Although the UI processor 836 may primarily support UI functionality, it may also coordinate with the DSP processor 822 to implement hazard mitigation in certain forms. For example, the UI processor 836 may be programmed to monitor various aspects of user input and/or other inputs (e.g., touch screen inputs, foot switch inputs, temperature sensor inputs) and may disable the drive output of the generator 800 when an erroneous condition is detected.

In certain forms, both the DSP processor 822 and the UI processor 836, for example, may determine and monitor the operating state of the generator 800. For the DSP processor 822, the operating state of the generator 800 may dictate, for example, which control and/or diagnostic processes are implemented by the DSP processor 822. For the UI processor 836, the operating state of the generator 800 may dictate, for example, which elements of a UI (e.g., display screens, sounds) are presented to a user. The respective DSP and UI processors 822, 836 may independently maintain the current operating state of the generator 800 and recognize and evaluate possible transitions out of the current operating state. The DSP processor 822 may function as the master in this relationship and determine when transitions between operating states are to occur. The UI processor 836 may be aware of valid transitions between operating states and may confirm if a particular transition is appropriate. For example, when the DSP processor 822 instructs the UI processor 836 to transition to a specific state, the UI processor 836 may verify that requested transition is valid. In the event that a requested transition between states is determined to be invalid by the UI processor 836, the UI processor 836 may cause the generator 800 to enter a failure mode.

The non-isolated stage 804 may further comprise a controller 838 for monitoring input devices (e.g., a capacitive touch sensor used for turning the generator 800 on and off, a capacitive touch screen). In certain forms, the controller 838 may comprise at least one processor and/or other controller device in communication with the UI processor 836. In one form, for example, the controller 838 may comprise a processor (e.g., a Meg168 8-bit controller available from Atmel) configured to monitor user input provided via one or more capacitive touch sensors. In one form, the controller 838 may comprise a touch screen controller (e.g., a QT5480 touch screen controller available from Atmel) to control and manage the acquisition of touch data from a capacitive touch screen.

In certain forms, when the generator 800 is in a “power off” state, the controller 838 may continue to receive operating power (e.g., via a line from a power supply of the generator 800, such as the power supply 854 discussed below). In this way, the controller 838 may continue to monitor an input device (e.g., a capacitive touch sensor located on a front panel of the generator 800) for turning the generator 800 on and off. When the generator 800 is in the power off state, the controller 838 may wake the power supply (e.g., enable operation of one or more DC/DC voltage converters 856 of the power supply 854) if activation of the “on/off” input device by a user is detected. The controller 838 may therefore initiate a sequence for transitioning the generator 800 to a “power on” state. Conversely, the controller 838 may initiate a sequence for transitioning the generator 800 to the power off state if activation of the “on/off” input device is detected when the generator 800 is in the power on state. In certain forms, for example, the controller 838 may report activation of the “on/off” input device to the UI processor 836, which in turn implements the necessary process sequence for transitioning the generator 800 to the power off state. In such forms, the controller 838 may have no independent ability for causing the removal of power from the generator 800 after its power on state has been established.

In certain forms, the controller 838 may cause the generator 800 to provide audible or other sensory feedback for alerting the user that a power on or power off sequence has been initiated. Such an alert may be provided at the beginning of a power on or power off sequence and prior to the commencement of other processes associated with the sequence.

In certain forms, the isolated stage 802 may comprise an instrument interface circuit 840 to, for example, provide a communication interface between a control circuit of a surgical instrument (e.g., a control circuit comprising handpiece switches) and components of the non-isolated stage 804, such as, for example, the logic device 816, the DSP processor 822, and/or the UI processor 836. The instrument interface circuit 840 may exchange information with components of the non-isolated stage 804 via a communication link that maintains a suitable degree of electrical isolation between the isolated and non-isolated stages 802, 804, such as, for example, an IR-based communication link. Power may be supplied to the instrument interface circuit 840 using, for example, a low-dropout voltage regulator powered by an isolation transformer driven from the non-isolated stage 804.

In one form, the instrument interface circuit 840 may comprise a logic circuit 842 (e.g., logic circuit, programmable logic circuit, PGA, FPGA, PLD) in communication with a signal conditioning circuit 844. The signal conditioning circuit 844 may be configured to receive a periodic signal from the logic circuit 842 (e.g., a 2 kHz square wave) to generate a bipolar interrogation signal having an identical frequency. The interrogation signal may be generated, for example, using a bipolar current source fed by a differential amplifier. The interrogation signal may be communicated to a surgical instrument control circuit (e.g., by using a conductive pair in a cable that connects the generator 800 to the surgical instrument) and monitored to determine a state or configuration of the control circuit. The control circuit may comprise a number of switches, resistors, and/or diodes to modify one or more characteristics (e.g., amplitude, rectification) of the interrogation signal such that a state or configuration of the control circuit is uniquely discernable based on the one or more characteristics. In one form, for example, the signal conditioning circuit 844 may comprise an ADC circuit for generating samples of a voltage signal appearing across inputs of the control circuit resulting from passage of interrogation signal therethrough. The logic circuit 842 (or a component of the non-isolated stage 804) may then determine the state or configuration of the control circuit based on the ADC circuit samples.

In one form, the instrument interface circuit 840 may comprise a first data circuit interface 846 to enable information exchange between the logic circuit 842 (or other element of the instrument interface circuit 840) and a first data circuit disposed in or otherwise associated with a surgical instrument. In certain forms, for example, a first data circuit may be disposed in a cable integrally attached to a surgical instrument handpiece or in an adaptor for interfacing a specific surgical instrument type or model with the generator 800. The first data circuit may be implemented in any suitable manner and may communicate with the generator according to any suitable protocol, including, for example, as described herein with respect to the first data circuit. In certain forms, the first data circuit may comprise a non-volatile storage device, such as an EEPROM device. In certain forms, the first data circuit interface 846 may be implemented separately from the logic circuit 842 and comprise suitable circuitry (e.g., discrete logic devices, a processor) to enable communication between the logic circuit 842 and the first data circuit. In other forms, the first data circuit interface 846 may be integral with the logic circuit 842.

In certain forms, the first data circuit may store information pertaining to the particular surgical instrument with which it is associated. Such information may include, for example, a model number, a serial number, a number of operations in which the surgical instrument has been used, and/or any other type of information. This information may be read by the instrument interface circuit 840 (e.g., by the logic circuit 842), transferred to a component of the non-isolated stage 804 (e.g., to logic device 816, DSP processor 822, and/or UI processor 836) for presentation to a user via an output device and/or for controlling a function or operation of the generator 800. Additionally, any type of information may be communicated to the first data circuit for storage therein via the first data circuit interface 846 (e.g., using the logic circuit 842). Such information may comprise, for example, an updated number of operations in which the surgical instrument has been used and/or dates and/or times of its usage.

As discussed previously, a surgical instrument may be detachable from a handpiece (e.g., the multifunction surgical instrument may be detachable from the handpiece) to promote instrument interchangeability and/or disposability. In such cases, conventional generators may be limited in their ability to recognize particular instrument configurations being used and to optimize control and diagnostic processes accordingly. The addition of readable data circuits to surgical instruments to address this issue is problematic from a compatibility standpoint, however. For example, designing a surgical instrument to remain backwardly compatible with generators that lack the requisite data reading functionality may be impractical due to, for example, differing signal schemes, design complexity, and cost. Forms of instruments discussed herein address these concerns by using data circuits that may be implemented in existing surgical instruments economically and with minimal design changes to preserve compatibility of the surgical instruments with current generator platforms.

Additionally, forms of the generator 800 may enable communication with instrument-based data circuits. For example, the generator 800 may be configured to communicate with a second data circuit contained in an instrument (e.g., the multifunction surgical instrument). In some forms, the second data circuit may be implemented in a many similar to that of the first data circuit described herein. The instrument interface circuit 840 may comprise a second data circuit interface 848 to enable this communication. In one form, the second data circuit interface 848 may comprise a tri-state digital interface, although other interfaces may also be used. In certain forms, the second data circuit may generally be any circuit for transmitting and/or receiving data. In one form, for example, the second data circuit may store information pertaining to the particular surgical instrument with which it is associated. Such information may include, for example, a model number, a serial number, a number of operations in which the surgical instrument has been used, and/or any other type of information.

In some forms, the second data circuit may store information about the electrical and/or ultrasonic properties of an associated ultrasonic transducer, end effector, or ultrasonic drive system. For example, the first data circuit may indicate a burn-in frequency slope, as described herein. Additionally or alternatively, any type of information may be communicated to second data circuit for storage therein via the second data circuit interface 848 (e.g., using the logic circuit 842). Such information may comprise, for example, an updated number of operations in which the instrument has been used and/or dates and/or times of its usage. In certain forms, the second data circuit may transmit data acquired by one or more sensors (e.g., an instrument-based temperature sensor). In certain forms, the second data circuit may receive data from the generator 800 and provide an indication to a user (e.g., a light emitting diode indication or other visible indication) based on the received data.

In certain forms, the second data circuit and the second data circuit interface 848 may be configured such that communication between the logic circuit 842 and the second data circuit can be effected without the need to provide additional conductors for this purpose (e.g., dedicated conductors of a cable connecting a handpiece to the generator 800). In one form, for example, information may be communicated to and from the second data circuit using a one-wire bus communication scheme implemented on existing cabling, such as one of the conductors used transmit interrogation signals from the signal conditioning circuit 844 to a control circuit in a handpiece. In this way, design changes or modifications to the surgical instrument that might otherwise be necessary are minimized or reduced. Moreover, because different types of communications implemented over a common physical channel can be frequency-band separated, the presence of a second data circuit may be “invisible” to generators that do not have the requisite data reading functionality, thus enabling backward compatibility of the surgical instrument.

In certain forms, the isolated stage 802 may comprise at least one blocking capacitor 850-1 connected to the drive signal output 810 b to prevent passage of DC current to a patient. A single blocking capacitor may be required to comply with medical regulations or standards, for example. While failure in single-capacitor designs is relatively uncommon, such failure may nonetheless have negative consequences. In one form, a second blocking capacitor 850-2 may be provided in series with the blocking capacitor 850-1, with current leakage from a point between the blocking capacitors 850-1, 850-2 being monitored by, for example, an ADC circuit 852 for sampling a voltage induced by leakage current. The samples may be received by the logic circuit 842, for example. Based changes in the leakage current (as indicated by the voltage samples), the generator 800 may determine when at least one of the blocking capacitors 850-1, 850-2 has failed, thus providing a benefit over single-capacitor designs having a single point of failure.

In certain forms, the non-isolated stage 804 may comprise a power supply 854 for delivering DC power at a suitable voltage and current. The power supply may comprise, for example, a 400 W power supply for delivering a 48 VDC system voltage. The power supply 854 may further comprise one or more DC/DC voltage converters 856 for receiving the output of the power supply to generate DC outputs at the voltages and currents required by the various components of the generator 800. As discussed above in connection with the controller 838, one or more of the DC/DC voltage converters 856 may receive an input from the controller 838 when activation of the “on/off” input device by a user is detected by the controller 838 to enable operation of, or wake, the DC/DC voltage converters 856.

FIG. 21 illustrates an example of a generator 900, which is one form of the generator 800 (FIG. 20). The generator 900 is configured to deliver multiple energy modalities to a surgical instrument. The generator 900 provides RF and ultrasonic signals for delivering energy to a surgical instrument either independently or simultaneously. The RF and ultrasonic signals may be provided alone or in combination and may be provided simultaneously. As noted above, at least one generator output can deliver multiple energy modalities (e.g., ultrasonic, bipolar or monopolar RF, irreversible and/or reversible electroporation, and/or microwave energy, among others) through a single port, and these signals can be delivered separately or simultaneously to the end effector to treat tissue. The generator 900 comprises a processor 902 coupled to a waveform generator 904. The processor 902 and waveform generator 904 are configured to generate a variety of signal waveforms based on information stored in a memory coupled to the processor 902, not shown for clarity of disclosure. The digital information associated with a waveform is provided to the waveform generator 904 which includes one or more DAC circuits to convert the digital input into an analog output. The analog output is fed to an amplifier 1106 for signal conditioning and amplification. The conditioned and amplified output of the amplifier 906 is coupled to a power transformer 908. The signals are coupled across the power transformer 908 to the secondary side, which is in the patient isolation side. A first signal of a first energy modality is provided to the surgical instrument between the terminals labeled ENERGY1 and RETURN. A second signal of a second energy modality is coupled across a capacitor 910 and is provided to the surgical instrument between the terminals labeled ENERGY2 and RETURN. It will be appreciated that more than two energy modalities may be output and thus the subscript “n” may be used to designate that up to n ENERGYn terminals may be provided, where n is a positive integer greater than 1. It also will be appreciated that up to “n” return paths RETURNn may be provided without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

A first voltage sensing circuit 912 is coupled across the terminals labeled ENERGY1 and the RETURN path to measure the output voltage therebetween. A second voltage sensing circuit 924 is coupled across the terminals labeled ENERGY2 and the RETURN path to measure the output voltage therebetween. A current sensing circuit 914 is disposed in series with the RETURN leg of the secondary side of the power transformer 908 as shown to measure the output current for either energy modality. If different return paths are provided for each energy modality, then a separate current sensing circuit should be provided in each return leg. The outputs of the first and second voltage sensing circuits 912, 924 are provided to respective isolation transformers 916, 922 and the output of the current sensing circuit 914 is provided to another isolation transformer 918. The outputs of the isolation transformers 916, 928, 922 in the on the primary side of the power transformer 908 (non-patient isolated side) are provided to a one or more ADC circuit 926. The digitized output of the ADC circuit 926 is provided to the processor 902 for further processing and computation. The output voltages and output current feedback information can be employed to adjust the output voltage and current provided to the surgical instrument and to compute output impedance, among other parameters. Input/output communications between the processor 902 and patient isolated circuits is provided through an interface circuit 920. Sensors also may be in electrical communication with the processor 902 by way of the interface circuit 920.

In one aspect, the impedance may be determined by the processor 902 by dividing the output of either the first voltage sensing circuit 912 coupled across the terminals labeled ENERGY1/RETURN or the second voltage sensing circuit 924 coupled across the terminals labeled ENERGY2/RETURN by the output of the current sensing circuit 914 disposed in series with the RETURN leg of the secondary side of the power transformer 908. The outputs of the first and second voltage sensing circuits 912, 924 are provided to separate isolations transformers 916, 922 and the output of the current sensing circuit 914 is provided to another isolation transformer 916. The digitized voltage and current sensing measurements from the ADC circuit 926 are provided the processor 902 for computing impedance. As an example, the first energy modality ENERGY1 may be ultrasonic energy and the second energy modality ENERGY2 may be RF energy. Nevertheless, in addition to ultrasonic and bipolar or monopolar RF energy modalities, other energy modalities include irreversible and/or reversible electroporation and/or microwave energy, among others. Also, although the example illustrated in FIG. 21 shows a single return path RETURN may be provided for two or more energy modalities, in other aspects, multiple return paths RETURNn may be provided for each energy modality ENERGYn. Thus, as described herein, the ultrasonic transducer impedance may be measured by dividing the output of the first voltage sensing circuit 912 by the current sensing circuit 914 and the tissue impedance may be measured by dividing the output of the second voltage sensing circuit 924 by the current sensing circuit 914.

As shown in FIG. 21, the generator 900 comprising at least one output port can include a power transformer 908 with a single output and with multiple taps to provide power in the form of one or more energy modalities, such as ultrasonic, bipolar or monopolar RF, irreversible and/or reversible electroporation, and/or microwave energy, among others, for example, to the end effector depending on the type of treatment of tissue being performed. For example, the generator 900 can deliver energy with higher voltage and lower current to drive an ultrasonic transducer, with lower voltage and higher current to drive RF electrodes for sealing tissue, or with a coagulation waveform for spot coagulation using either monopolar or bipolar RF electrosurgical electrodes. The output waveform from the generator 900 can be steered, switched, or filtered to provide the frequency to the end effector of the surgical instrument. The connection of an ultrasonic transducer to the generator 900 output would be preferably located between the output labeled ENERGY1 and RETURN as shown in FIG. 21. In one example, a connection of RF bipolar electrodes to the generator 900 output would be preferably located between the output labeled ENERGY2 and RETURN. In the case of monopolar output, the preferred connections would be active electrode (e.g., pencil or other probe) to the ENERGY2 output and a suitable return pad connected to the RETURN output.

Additional details are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0086914, titled TECHNIQUES FOR OPERATING GENERATOR FOR DIGITALLY GENERATING ELECTRICAL SIGNAL WAVEFORMS AND SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS, which published on Mar. 30, 2017, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

As used throughout this description, the term “wireless” and its derivatives may be used to describe circuits, devices, systems, methods, techniques, communications channels, etc., that may communicate data through the use of modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. The term does not imply that the associated devices do not contain any wires, although in some aspects they might not. The communication module may implement any of a number of wireless or wired communication standards or protocols, including but not limited to Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 family), WiMAX (IEEE 802.16 family), IEEE 802.20, long term evolution (LTE), Ev-DO, HSPA+, HSDPA+, HSUPA+, EDGE, GSM, GPRS, CDMA, TDMA, DECT, Bluetooth, Ethernet derivatives thereof, as well as any other wireless and wired protocols that are designated as 3G, 4G, 5G, and beyond. The computing module may include a plurality of communication modules. For instance, a first communication module may be dedicated to shorter range wireless communications such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and a second communication module may be dedicated to longer range wireless communications such as GPS, EDGE, GPRS, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, Ev-DO, and others.

As used herein a processor or processing unit is an electronic circuit which performs operations on some external data source, usually memory or some other data stream. The term is used herein to refer to the central processor (central processing unit) in a system or computer systems (especially systems on a chip (SoCs)) that combine a number of specialized “processors.”

As used herein, a system on a chip or system on chip (SoC or SOC) is an integrated circuit (also known as an “IC” or “chip”) that integrates all components of a computer or other electronic systems. It may contain digital, analog, mixed-signal, and often radio-frequency functions—all on a single substrate. A SoC integrates a microcontroller (or microprocessor) with advanced peripherals like graphics processing unit (GPU), Wi-Fi module, or coprocessor. A SoC may or may not contain built-in memory.

As used herein, a microcontroller or controller is a system that integrates a microprocessor with peripheral circuits and memory. A microcontroller (or MCU for microcontroller unit) may be implemented as a small computer on a single integrated circuit. It may be similar to a SoC; an SoC may include a microcontroller as one of its components. A microcontroller may contain one or more core processing units (CPUs) along with memory and programmable input/output peripherals. Program memory in the form of Ferroelectric RAM, NOR flash or OTP ROM is also often included on chip, as well as a small amount of RAM. Microcontrollers may be employed for embedded applications, in contrast to the microprocessors used in personal computers or other general purpose applications consisting of various discrete chips.

As used herein, the term controller or microcontroller may be a stand-alone IC or chip device that interfaces with a peripheral device. This may be a link between two parts of a computer or a controller on an external device that manages the operation of (and connection with) that device.

Any of the processors or microcontrollers described herein, may be implemented by any single core or multicore processor such as those known under the trade name ARM Cortex by Texas Instruments. In one aspect, the processor may be an LM4F230H5QR ARM Cortex-M4F Processor Core, available from Texas Instruments, for example, comprising on-chip memory of 256 KB single-cycle flash memory, or other non-volatile memory, up to 40 MHz, a prefetch buffer to improve performance above 40 MHz, a 32 KB single-cycle serial random access memory (SRAM), internal read-only memory (ROM) loaded with StellarisWare® software, 2 KB electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), one or more pulse width modulation (PWM) modules, one or more quadrature encoder inputs (QEI) analog, one or more 12-bit Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADC) with 12 analog input channels, details of which are available for the product datasheet.

In one aspect, the processor may comprise a safety controller comprising two controller-based families such as TMS570 and RM4x known under the trade name Hercules ARM Cortex R4, also by Texas Instruments. The safety controller may be configured specifically for IEC 61508 and ISO 26262 safety critical applications, among others, to provide advanced integrated safety features while delivering scalable performance, connectivity, and memory options.

Modular devices include the modules (as described in connection with FIGS. 3 and 9, for example) that are receivable within a surgical hub and the surgical devices or instruments that can be connected to the various modules in order to connect or pair with the corresponding surgical hub. The modular devices include, for example, intelligent surgical instruments, medical imaging devices, suction/irrigation devices, smoke evacuators, energy generators, ventilators, insufflators, and displays. The modular devices described herein can be controlled by control algorithms. The control algorithms can be executed on the modular device itself, on the surgical hub to which the particular modular device is paired, or on both the modular device and the surgical hub (e.g., via a distributed computing architecture). In some exemplifications, the modular devices' control algorithms control the devices based on data sensed by the modular device itself (i.e., by sensors in, on, or connected to the modular device). This data can be related to the patient being operated on (e.g., tissue properties or insufflation pressure) or the modular device itself (e.g., the rate at which a knife is being advanced, motor current, or energy levels). For example, a control algorithm for a surgical stapling and cutting instrument can control the rate at which the instrument's motor drives its knife through tissue according to resistance encountered by the knife as it advances.

Aspects of the present disclosure include a cloud-based medical analytics system that communicatively couples to multiple Hub systems, as described above, and multiple robotic surgical devices, described more below. The cloud-based medical analytics system is configured to receive data pertaining to a patient and/or medical procedure and provide various integrated processes that span multiple Hub systems and multiple robotic surgical devices. The cloud-based medical analytics system generally aggregates data and forms insights based on the aggregated data that may not otherwise be concluded without gathering the various disparate data sources that span the multiple Hub systems and robotic devices. Described below are various examples of different types of functions and structures present in the cloud-based medical analytics system that provide more detail toward these ends.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of the computer-implemented interactive surgical system, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, the computer-implemented interactive surgical system is configured to monitor and analyze data related to the operation of various surgical systems that include surgical hubs, surgical instruments, robotic devices and operating theaters or healthcare facilities. The computer-implemented interactive surgical system comprises a cloud-based analytics system. Although the cloud-based analytics system is described as a surgical system, it is not necessarily limited as such and could be a cloud-based medical system generally. As illustrated in FIG. 22, the cloud-based analytics system comprises a plurality of surgical instruments 7012 (may be the same or similar to instruments 112), a plurality of surgical hubs 7006 (may be the same or similar to hubs 106), and a surgical data network 7001 (may be the same or similar to network 201) to couple the surgical hubs 7006 to the cloud 7004 (may be the same or similar to cloud 204). Each of the plurality of surgical hubs 7006 is communicatively coupled to one or more surgical instruments 7012. The hubs 7006 are also communicatively coupled to the cloud 7004 of the computer-implemented interactive surgical system via the network 7001. The cloud 7004 is a remote centralized source of hardware and software for storing, manipulating, and communicating data generated based on the operation of various surgical systems. As shown in FIG. 22, access to the cloud 7004 is achieved via the network 7001, which may be the Internet or some other suitable computer network. Surgical hubs 7006 that are coupled to the cloud 7004 can be considered the client side of the cloud computing system (i.e., cloud-based analytics system). Surgical instruments 7012 are paired with the surgical hubs 7006 for control and implementation of various surgical procedures or operations as described herein.

In addition, surgical instruments 7012 may comprise transceivers for data transmission to and from their corresponding surgical hubs 7006 (which may also comprise transceivers). Combinations of surgical instruments 7012 and corresponding hubs 7006 may indicate particular locations, such as operating theaters in healthcare facilities (e.g., hospitals), for providing medical operations. For example, the memory of a surgical hub 7006 may store location data. As shown in FIG. 22, the cloud 7004 comprises central servers 7013 (may be same or similar to remote server 7013), hub application servers 7002, data analytics modules 7034, and an input/output (“I/O”) interface 7006. The central servers 7013 of the cloud 7004 collectively administer the cloud computing system, which includes monitoring requests by client surgical hubs 7006 and managing the processing capacity of the cloud 7004 for executing the requests. Each of the central servers 7013 comprises one or more processors 7008 coupled to suitable memory devices 7010 which can include volatile memory such as random-access memory (RAM) and non-volatile memory such as magnetic storage devices. The memory devices 7010 may comprise machine executable instructions that when executed cause the processors 7008 to execute the data analytics modules 7034 for the cloud-based data analysis, operations, recommendations and other operations described below. Moreover, the processors 7008 can execute the data analytics modules 7034 independently or in conjunction with hub applications independently executed by the hubs 7006. The central servers 7013 also comprise aggregated medical data databases 2212, which can reside in the memory 2210.

Based on connections to various surgical hubs 7006 via the network 7001, the cloud 7004 can aggregate data from specific data generated by various surgical instruments 7012 and their corresponding hubs 7006. Such aggregated data may be stored within the aggregated medical databases 7012 of the cloud 7004. In particular, the cloud 7004 may advantageously perform data analysis and operations on the aggregated data to yield insights and/or perform functions that individual hubs 7006 could not achieve on their own. To this end, as shown in FIG. 22, the cloud 7004 and the surgical hubs 7006 are communicatively coupled to transmit and receive information. The I/O interface 7006 is connected to the plurality of surgical hubs 7006 via the network 7001. In this way, the I/O interface 7006 can be configured to transfer information between the surgical hubs 7006 and the aggregated medical data databases 7011. Accordingly, the I/O interface 7006 may facilitate read/write operations of the cloud-based analytics system. Such read/write operations may be executed in response to requests from hubs 7006. These requests could be transmitted to the hubs 7006 through the hub applications. The I/O interface 7006 may include one or more high speed data ports, which may include universal serial bus (USB) ports, IEEE 1394 ports, as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth I/O interfaces for connecting the cloud 7004 to hubs 7006. The hub application servers 7002 of the cloud 7004 are configured to host and supply shared capabilities to software applications (e.g., hub applications) executed by surgical hubs 7006. For example, the hub application servers 7002 may manage requests made by the hub applications through the hubs 7006, control access to the aggregated medical data databases 7011, and perform load balancing. The data analytics modules 7034 are described in further detail with reference to FIG. 23.

The particular cloud computing system configuration described in the present disclosure is specifically designed to address various issues arising in the context of medical operations and procedures performed using medical devices, such as the surgical instruments 7012, 112. In particular, the surgical instruments 7012 may be digital surgical devices configured to interact with the cloud 7004 for implementing techniques to improve the performance of surgical operations. Various surgical instruments 7012 and/or surgical hubs 7006 may comprise touch controlled user interfaces such that clinicians may control aspects of interaction between the surgical instruments 7012 and the cloud 7004. Other suitable user interfaces for control such as auditory controlled user interfaces can also be used.

FIG. 23 is a block diagram which illustrates the functional architecture of the computer-implemented interactive surgical system, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. The cloud-based analytics system includes a plurality of data analytics modules 7034 that may be executed by the processors 7008 of the cloud 7004 for providing data analytic solutions to problems specifically arising in the medical field. As shown in FIG. 23, the functions of the cloud-based data analytics modules 7034 may be assisted via hub applications 7014 hosted by the hub application servers 7002 that may be accessed on surgical hubs 7006. The cloud processors 7008 and hub applications 7014 may operate in conjunction to execute the data analytics modules 7034. Application program interfaces (APIs) 7016 define the set of protocols and routines corresponding to the hub applications 7014. Additionally, the APIs 7016 manage the storing and retrieval of data into and from the aggregated medical databases 7012 for the operations of the applications 7014. The caches 7018 also store data (e.g., temporarily) and are coupled to the APIs 7016 for more efficient retrieval of data used by the applications 7014. The data analytics modules 7034 in FIG. 23 include modules for resource optimization 7020, data collection and aggregation 7022, authorization and security 7024, control program updating 7026, patient outcome analysis 7028, recommendations 7030, and data sorting and prioritization 7032. Other suitable data analytics modules could also be implemented by the cloud 7004, according to some aspects. In one aspect, the data analytics modules are used for specific recommendations based on analyzing trends, outcomes, and other data.

For example, the data collection and aggregation module 7022 could be used to generate self-describing data (e.g., metadata) including identification of notable features or configuration (e.g., trends), management of redundant data sets, and storage of the data in paired data sets which can be grouped by surgery but not necessarily keyed to actual surgical dates and surgeons. In particular, pair data sets generated from operations of surgical instruments 7012 can comprise applying a binary classification, e.g., a bleeding or a non-bleeding event. More generally, the binary classification may be characterized as either a desirable event (e.g., a successful surgical procedure) or an undesirable event (e.g., a misfired or misused surgical instrument 7012). The aggregated self-describing data may correspond to individual data received from various groups or subgroups of surgical hubs 7006. Accordingly, the data collection and aggregation module 7022 can generate aggregated metadata or other organized data based on raw data received from the surgical hubs 7006. To this end, the processors 7008 can be operationally coupled to the hub applications 7014 and aggregated medical data databases 7011 for executing the data analytics modules 7034. The data collection and aggregation module 7022 may store the aggregated organized data into the aggregated medical data databases 2212.

The resource optimization module 7020 can be configured to analyze this aggregated data to determine an optimal usage of resources for a particular or group of healthcare facilities. For example, the resource optimization module 7020 may determine an optimal order point of surgical stapling instruments 7012 for a group of healthcare facilities based on corresponding predicted demand of such instruments 7012. The resource optimization module 7020 might also assess the resource usage or other operational configurations of various healthcare facilities to determine whether resource usage could be improved. Similarly, the recommendations module 7030 can be configured to analyze aggregated organized data from the data collection and aggregation module 7022 to provide recommendations. For example, the recommendations module 7030 could recommend to healthcare facilities (e.g., medical service providers such as hospitals) that a particular surgical instrument 7012 should be upgraded to an improved version based on a higher than expected error rate, for example. Additionally, the recommendations module 7030 and/or resource optimization module 7020 could recommend better supply chain parameters such as product reorder points and provide suggestions of different surgical instrument 7012, uses thereof, or procedure steps to improve surgical outcomes. The healthcare facilities can receive such recommendations via corresponding surgical hubs 7006. More specific recommendations regarding parameters or configurations of various surgical instruments 7012 can also be provided. Hubs 7006 and/or surgical instruments 7012 each could also have display screens that display data or recommendations provided by the cloud 7004.

The patient outcome analysis module 7028 can analyze surgical outcomes associated with currently used operational parameters of surgical instruments 7012. The patient outcome analysis module 7028 may also analyze and assess other potential operational parameters. In this connection, the recommendations module 7030 could recommend using these other potential operational parameters based on yielding better surgical outcomes, such as better sealing or less bleeding. For example, the recommendations module 7030 could transmit recommendations to a surgical 7006 regarding when to use a particular cartridge for a corresponding stapling surgical instrument 7012. Thus, the cloud-based analytics system, while controlling for common variables, may be configured to analyze the large collection of raw data and to provide centralized recommendations over multiple healthcare facilities (advantageously determined based on aggregated data). For example, the cloud-based analytics system could analyze, evaluate, and/or aggregate data based on type of medical practice, type of patient, number of patients, geographic similarity between medical providers, which medical providers/facilities use similar types of instruments, etc., in a way that no single healthcare facility alone would be able to analyze independently. The control program updating module 7026 could be configured to implement various surgical instrument 7012 recommendations when corresponding control programs are updated. For example, the patient outcome analysis module 7028 could identify correlations linking specific control parameters with successful (or unsuccessful) results. Such correlations may be addressed when updated control programs are transmitted to surgical instruments 7012 via the control program updating module 7026. Updates to instruments 7012 that are transmitted via a corresponding hub 7006 may incorporate aggregated performance data that was gathered and analyzed by the data collection and aggregation module 7022 of the cloud 7004. Additionally, the patient outcome analysis module 7028 and recommendations module 7030 could identify improved methods of using instruments 7012 based on aggregated performance data.

The cloud-based analytics system may include security features implemented by the cloud 7004. These security features may be managed by the authorization and security module 7024. Each surgical hub 7006 can have associated unique credentials such as username, password, and other suitable security credentials. These credentials could be stored in the memory 7010 and be associated with a permitted cloud access level. For example, based on providing accurate credentials, a surgical hub 7006 may be granted access to communicate with the cloud to a predetermined extent (e.g., may only engage in transmitting or receiving certain defined types of information). To this end, the aggregated medical data databases 7011 of the cloud 7004 may comprise a database of authorized credentials for verifying the accuracy of provided credentials. Different credentials may be associated with varying levels of permission for interaction with the cloud 7004, such as a predetermined access level for receiving the data analytics generated by the cloud 7004. Furthermore, for security purposes, the cloud could maintain a database of hubs 7006, instruments 7012, and other devices that may comprise a “black list” of prohibited devices. In particular, a surgical hubs 7006 listed on the black list may not be permitted to interact with the cloud, while surgical instruments 7012 listed on the black list may not have functional access to a corresponding hub 7006 and/or may be prevented from fully functioning when paired to its corresponding hub 7006. Additionally or alternatively, the cloud 7004 may flag instruments 7012 based on incompatibility or other specified criteria. In this manner, counterfeit medical devices and improper reuse of such devices throughout the cloud-based analytics system can be identified and addressed.

The surgical instruments 7012 may use wireless transceivers to transmit wireless signals that may represent, for example, authorization credentials for access to corresponding hubs 7006 and the cloud 7004. Wired transceivers may also be used to transmit signals. Such authorization credentials can be stored in the respective memory devices of the surgical instruments 7012. The authorization and security module 7024 can determine whether the authorization credentials are accurate or counterfeit. The authorization and security module 7024 may also dynamically generate authorization credentials for enhanced security. The credentials could also be encrypted, such as by using hash based encryption. Upon transmitting proper authorization, the surgical instruments 7012 may transmit a signal to the corresponding hubs 7006 and ultimately the cloud 7004 to indicate that the instruments 7012 are ready to obtain and transmit medical data. In response, the cloud 7004 may transition into a state enabled for receiving medical data for storage into the aggregated medical data databases 7011. This data transmission readiness could be indicated by a light indicator on the instruments 7012, for example. The cloud 7004 can also transmit signals to surgical instruments 7012 for updating their associated control programs. The cloud 7004 can transmit signals that are directed to a particular class of surgical instruments 7012 (e.g., electrosurgical instruments) so that software updates to control programs are only transmitted to the appropriate surgical instruments 7012. Moreover, the cloud 7004 could be used to implement system wide solutions to address local or global problems based on selective data transmission and authorization credentials. For example, if a group of surgical instruments 7012 are identified as having a common manufacturing defect, the cloud 7004 may change the authorization credentials corresponding to this group to implement an operational lockout of the group.

The cloud-based analytics system may allow for monitoring multiple healthcare facilities (e.g., medical facilities like hospitals) to determine improved practices and recommend changes (via the recommendations module 2030, for example) accordingly. Thus, the processors 7008 of the cloud 7004 can analyze data associated with an individual healthcare facility to identify the facility and aggregate the data with other data associated with other healthcare facilities in a group. Groups could be defined based on similar operating practices or geographical location, for example. In this way, the cloud 7004 may provide healthcare facility group wide analysis and recommendations. The cloud-based analytics system could also be used for enhanced situational awareness. For example, the processors 7008 may predictively model the effects of recommendations on the cost and effectiveness for a particular facility (relative to overall operations and/or various medical procedures). The cost and effectiveness associated with that particular facility can also be compared to a corresponding local region of other facilities or any other comparable facilities.

The data sorting and prioritization module 7032 may prioritize and sort data based on criticality (e.g., the severity of a medical event associated with the data, unexpectedness, suspiciousness). This sorting and prioritization may be used in conjunction with the functions of the other data analytics modules 7034 described above to improve the cloud-based analytics and operations described herein. For example, the data sorting and prioritization module 7032 can assign a priority to the data analysis performed by the data collection and aggregation module 7022 and patient outcome analysis modules 7028. Different prioritization levels can result in particular responses from the cloud 7004 (corresponding to a level of urgency) such as escalation for an expedited response, special processing, exclusion from the aggregated medical data databases 7011, or other suitable responses. Moreover, if necessary, the cloud 7004 can transmit a request (e.g., a push message) through the hub application servers for additional data from corresponding surgical instruments 7012. The push message can result in a notification displayed on the corresponding hubs 7006 for requesting supporting or additional data. This push message may be required in situations in which the cloud detects a significant irregularity or outlier and the cloud cannot determine the cause of the irregularity. The central servers 7013 may be programmed to trigger this push message in certain significant circumstances, such as when data is determined to be different from an expected value beyond a predetermined threshold or when it appears security has been comprised, for example.

Additional example details for the various functions described are provided in the ensuing descriptions below. Each of the various descriptions may utilize the cloud architecture as described in FIGS. 22 and 23 as one example of hardware and software implementation.

Usage, Resource, and Efficiency Modeling for Medical Facility

Aspects of the present disclosure are presented for a cloud-based analytics system, communicatively coupled to a plurality of hubs and smart medical instruments, and configured to provide customized recommendations to localized medical care facilities regarding usage of medical supplies and other resources to improve efficiency and optimize resource allocation. A medical care facility, such as a hospital or medical clinic, may develop a set of practices for procuring, using, and disposing of various medical supplies that are often derived from routines and traditions maintained over time. The behaviors of a medical facility typically are risk-averse, and generally would be hesitant to adopt new and better practices unless and until convincingly shown of a better practice. Similarly, even if a better usage or efficiency model has been developed in a nearby facility, it is difficult for a local facility to adopt the improved practice because 1) each facility may be more natively resistant to change from the outside and 2) there are many unknowns for how or why the improved practice works in the nearby facility in relation to what the local facility does instead. Furthermore, even if a medical facility desired to improve its practices, it may be unable to do so optimally because it lacks enough knowledge from other similarly situated facilities, either in its region, according to a similar size, and/or according to similar practices or patients, and the like.

To help facilitate the dissemination of improved practices across multiple medical facilities, it would be desirable if a common source could have knowledge of the contexts from multiple medical facilities and be able to determine what changes should be made for any particular medical facility, based on the knowledge of the practices of any or all of the multiple facilities.

In some aspects, a cloud-based system communicatively coupled to knowledge centers in a medical facility, such as one or more medical hubs, may be configured to aggregate medical resource usage data from multiple medical facilities. The cloud-based system may then correlate the medical resource usage data with outcomes from those facilities, and may be able to derive various patterns within the data. For example, in some aspects, the cloud-based system may find which hospitals generate the least amount of waste per unit cost, based on an aggregation of all waste and procurement data obtained from medical facilities in a wide geographic region (e.g., all surgery centers in Japan). The cloud-based system may be configured to identify which medical facility produced the least amount of waste per unit cost, and then may analyze what practices differentiate that medical facility. If a trend is found, the cloud-based system may disseminate this information to all of the similarly situated medical facilities to improve their practices. This analysis may help improve inventory management, throughput efficiency, or overall efficiency of a medical facility. The improved inventory management may help surgical devices and other medical resources be utilized at their peak performance levels for longer periods of time, compared to if resources were badly managed, and therefore medical devices may be continuously used while they are older and more worn down.

In general, the cloud-based system may be configured to aggregate data from multiple medical facilities, something that no single facility alone would be able to accomplish on its own. Furthermore, the cloud-based system may be configured to analyze the large collection of data, controlling for common variables, such as type of practice, type of patient, number of patients, geographic similarity, which facilities use similar types of instruments, etc., that no single facility alone would be able to analyze on its own.

In this way, the cloud-based system of the present disclosure may be able to find more accurate causalities that lead to best practices at a particular facility, which can then be disseminated to all of the other facilities. Furthermore, the cloud-based system may be able to provide the data from all of the disparate sources that no single facility may be able to do on its own.

Referring to FIG. 24, shown is an example illustration of a tabulation of various resources correlated to particular types of surgical categories. There are two bars for each category, with the dashed line bars 7102, 7106, and 7110 representing unused and/or scrap resources, and the solid line bars 7104, 7108, and 7112 showing a totality of resourced in use for that category. In this example, bars 7104, 7108, and 7112 show a total amount of endocutter cartridges, sponges, saline, fibrin sealants, sutures, and stapler buttresses, for thoracic, colorectal, and bariatric procedures, respectively, compared to the lower amounts 7102, 7106, and 7110 representing an amount of unused resources for the thoracic, colorectal, and bariatric procedures, respectively.

The cloud system may be configured to identify wasted product that was gathered and not used or gathered and used in a manner that was not beneficial to the patient or the surgery. To do this, the cloud system may record in memory all records of inventory intake and disposal. During each intake, the inventory may be scanned and entered, and the bar codes of each inventory item may identify what type of product it is, as an example. In some aspects, smart disposal bins may be utilized to automatically tabulate when a product is being disposed of. These may be connected to the cloud system ultimately, either through one or more surgical hubs or through a separate inventory management system throughout the entire facility. Each facility may be tracked by its location, for example through a set GPS coordinate, inputted address or the like. This data may be organized in memory using one or more databases with various meta data associated with it, such as date and time of use, location of origin, type of procedure used for if applicable, cost per item, expiration date if applicable, and so on.

In addition, the cloud system may be configured to identify misfired or misused product and tracking of where the product was used, and may archive these results. For example, each surgical instrument communicatively coupled to a surgical hub may transmit a record of when the instrument was fired, such as to fire a staple or apply ultrasonic energy. Each record may be transmitted through the instrument and recorded at the cloud system ultimately. The action by the instrument may be tied with an outcome, either at that instant or with an overall outcome stating whether the procedure was successful or not. The action may be associated with a precise timestamp that places the action at an exact point during a surgery, where all of the actions of the surgery are also automatically recorded to the cloud, including start and end times of the surgery. This enables all of the human medical care workers to focus on their respective duties during surgery, rather than worry about an exact instance an action of a medical instrument occurred. The recordings of the medical instruments can be used to identify what products may be wasted during surgery, and the cloud system may be configured to also identify usage trends in this way.

In some aspects, the cloud system may be configured to perform trending analysis of the product tied to the overall length or amount of the product to identify short fires, or discarded product. For example, the cloud system may place the use of a product within a known period of when a surgical procedure is occurring, with a time stamp. The cloud system may then record an amount of resources utilized during that procedure, and may compare the materials used in that procedure with similarly situated procedures performed elsewhere. Out of this, several conclusions may be reached by the cloud system. For example, the cloud system may provide recommendations of a mix that provides smaller portions or an alternative usage that results in less wasted product. As another example, the cloud system may provide a suggestion or specified protocol change of specialized kits that would assemble the product in a manner more aligned to the detected institution usage. As yet another example, the cloud system may provide a suggestion or a change in protocol for alternative product mixes that would be more aligned to the detected usage and therefore should result in less wasted product. As yet another example, the cloud system may provide a recommendation on how to adjust a medical procedure during surgery based on timings of actions occurring before or after an event that typically results in wasteful resources, such as misfirings or multiple firings, based on identifying a correlation or pattern that actions during surgery occurring within a certain time interval relative to a prior action tend to result in wasteful actions. These analyses may be derived in part using algorithms that attempt to optimize the available resources with the rates of their disposals, taking into account various factors such as misfirings, native practices of the surgeons or the facility at large, and so forth.

Still referring to FIG. 24, based on the tabulation of the used and unused product, the cloud system can also generate several other conclusions. For example, the cloud system may be configured to generate a correlation of unused product to cost overhead. The cloud system may also generate a calculation of expired product and how that impacts rates of change with inventory. It may also generate an indication of where in the supply chain the product is being unused and how it is being accounted for. It may also generate ways to reduce costs or inventory space by finding substitutes of some resources over others for the same procedure. This may be based on comparing similar practices at different medical facilities that use different resources to perform the same procedures.

In some aspects, the cloud system may be configured to analyze the inventory usage of any and all medical products and conduct procurement management for when to acquire new product. The cloud system may optimize the utilization of inventory space to determine how best to utilize what space is available, in light of rates of usage for certain products compared to others. It may often be the case that inventory is not closely monitored in terms of how long a product remains in storage. If certain products are utilized at slower rates, but there is a large amount of it, it may be determined that the storage space is allocated poorly. Therefore, the cloud system may better apportion the storage space to reflect actual resource usage.

To improve in this area, in some aspects, the cloud system may for example, identify missing or insufficient product within an operating room (OR) for a specified procedure. The cloud system may then provide an alert or notification or transmit data to display that deficiency at the surgical hub in the OR. As another example, when a product is used in the OR, it may communicate its usage information to the cloud, such as activate a sensor or activation identification. The product may be registered with a scan or a power on switch. Analysis of this information for a given hospital coupled with its ordering information, may eventually inform the supply status and can enable ordering recommendations. This may occur automatically, once the cloud system registers that products are being used in the OR, or through other means.

In some aspects, device utilization within a procedure is monitored by the cloud system and compared for a given segment (e.g., individual surgeon, individual hospital, network of hospitals, region, etc.) against device utilization for similar procedures in other segments. Recommendations are presented to optimize utilization based on unit resource used or expenditure spent to supply such resource. In general, the cloud system may focus on a comparison of product utilization between different institutions that it is connected with.

FIG. 25 provides an example illustration of how the data is analyzed by the cloud system to provide a comparison between multiple facilities to compare use of resources. In general, the cloud system 7200 may obtain usage data from all facilities, such as any of the types of data described with respect to FIG. 24, and may associate each datum with various other meta data, such as time, procedure, outcome of the procedure, cost, date of acquisition, and so forth. FIG. 25 shows an example set of data 7202 being uploaded to the cloud 7200, each circle in the set 7202 representing an outcome and one or more resources and contextual metadata that may be relevant to leading to the outcome. In addition, high performing outcomes 7204 and their associated resources and contextual metadata are also uploaded to the cloud 7200, though at the time of upload, it may not be known which data has very good outcomes or simply average (or below average) outcomes. The cloud system may identify which use of resources is associated with better results compared to an average or expected outcome. This may be based on determining which resources last longer, are not wasted as often, ultimately cost less per unit time or unit resource, as some examples. The cloud system may analyze the data to determine best outcomes based on any and all of these variables, or even one or more combinations of them. The trends identified may then be used to find a correlation or may prompt request of additional data associated with these data points. If a pattern is found, these recommendations may be alerted to a user to examine as possible ways to improve resource usage and efficiency.

The example graph 7206 provides a visual depiction of an example trend or pattern that the cloud may derive from examining the resource and outcome data, according to some aspects. In this example, the cloud system may have analyzed resource and outcome data of number of stapler firings and their relation to performance in surgery. The cloud system may have gathered the data from multiple medical facilities, and multiple surgeons within each facility, based on automatically recorded firing data during each surgery that is generated directly from the operation of the surgical staplers themselves. The performance outcomes may be based on post-op examinations and evaluations, and/or immediate outcomes during surgery, such as whether there is a bleeding event or a successful wound closure. Based on all of the data, trends may be determined, and here, it may be discovered that there is a small window of the number of firings that results in the best performance outcomes, at interval “a” as shown. The magnitude of this performance compared to the most common number of firings is shown as interval “b.” Because the number of firings that results in the best outcomes may not be what is commonly practiced, it may not be readily easily to have discovered these outcomes without the aggregation and analytical abilities of the cloud system.

As another example: cartridge type, color, and adjunct usage that are monitored for sleeve gastrectomy procedures for individual surgeons within the same hospital may be obtained. The data may reveal an average procedure cost for one surgeon is higher for this surgeon when compared to others within the same hospital, yet short term patient outcomes remain the same. The hospital is then informed and is encouraged to look into differences in device utilization, techniques, etc. in search of optimizing costs potentially through the elimination of adjuncts.

In some aspects, the cloud system may also identify specialty cases. For example, specific cost information provided within the hospital, including OR time, device utilization, and staff, may be identified. These aspects may be unique to a particular OR, or facility. The cloud system may be configured to suggest efficiencies in OR time usage (scheduling), device inventory, etc. across specialties (orthopedics, thoracic, colorectal, bariatric, etc.) for these specialty cases.

In some aspects, the cloud system may also be configured to compare cost-benefit of robotic surgery vs traditional methods, such as laparoscopic procedures for given procedure type. The cloud system may compare device costs, OR time, patient discharge times, efficacy of the procedure done by the robot vs performed by surgeons exclusively, and the like.

According to some aspects of the cloud system, whereas the above disclosure focuses on a determination of efficiency (i.e., value) and optimizing based on that, here, this section centers around on identifying which local practices may be best disseminated to other similarly situated medical facilities.

A medical care facility, such as a hospital or medical clinic, may develop a set of practices for how to utilize medical devices for aiding medical procedures that are often derived from routines and traditions maintained over time. The behaviors of a medical facility typically are risk-averse, and generally would be hesitant to adopt new and better practices unless and until convincingly shown of a better practice. Similarly, even if a better practice for utilizing a device or for adjusting a procedure has been developed in a nearby facility, it is difficult for a local facility to adopt the improved practice because 1) each facility may be more natively resistant to change from the outside and 2) there are many unknowns for how or why the improved practice works in the nearby facility in relation to what the local facility does instead. Furthermore, even if a medical facility desired to improve its practices, it may be unable to do so optimally because it lacks enough knowledge from other similarly situated facilities, either in its region, according to a similar size, and/or according to similar practices or patients, and the like.

To help facilitate the dissemination of improved practices across multiple medical facilities, it would be desirable if a common source could have knowledge of the contexts from multiple medical facilities and be able to determine what changes should be made for any particular medical facility, based on the knowledge of the practices of any or all of the multiple facilities.

In some aspects, a cloud-based system communicatively coupled to knowledge centers in a medical facility, such as one or more medical hubs, may be configured to aggregate resource utilization data and patient outcomes from multiple medical facilities. The cloud-based system may then correlate the resource utilization data with the outcomes from those facilities, and may be able to derive various patterns within the data. For example, in some aspects, the cloud-based system may find which hospitals produce better outcomes for a particular type of procedure, based on an aggregation of all the patient outcome data for that particular procedure collected in a wide geographic region (e.g., all surgery centers in Germany). The cloud-based system may be configured to identify which medical facility produced a better procedural outcome compared to the average across the geographic region, and then may analyze what differences in that procedure occur in that medical facility. If a trend is found and one or more differences are identified, the cloud-based system may disseminate this information to all of the similarly situated medical facilities to improve their practices.

In general, the cloud-based system may be configured to aggregate data from multiple medical facilities, something that no single facility alone would be able to accomplish on its own. Furthermore, the cloud-based system may be configured to analyze the large collection of data, controlling for common variables, such as type of practice, type of patient, number of patients, geographic similarity, which facilities use similar types of instruments, etc., that no single facility alone would be able to analyze on its own.

In this way, the cloud-based system of the present disclosure may be able to find more accurate causalities that give rise to best practices at a particular facility, which can then be disseminated to all of the other facilities. Furthermore, the cloud-based system may be able to provide the data from all of the disparate sources that no single facility may be able to do on its own.

The cloud system may be configured to generate conclusions about the efficacy of any local facility in a number of ways. For example, the cloud system may determine if a local treatment facility is using a product mixture or usage that differs from the larger community and their outcomes are superior. The cloud system may then correlate the differences and highlight them for use in other facilities, other surgical hub, or in clinical sales as some examples. In general, this information may be disseminated widely in a way that no single facility may have had access or knowledge of, including the facility that practiced this improve procedure.

As another example, the cloud system may determine if the local facility has equal to or inferior outcomes to the larger community. The cloud system may then correlate suggestions and provide that information back to the local facility as recommendations. The system may display data showing their performance in relation to others, and may also display suggestions on what that facility is doing compared to what everybody else is doing. Again, the local facility may not even know they have an inefficiency in that respect, nor may everybody else realize they are utilizing their resources more efficiently, and thus nobody would ever know to examine these issues without the cloud system having a bigger picture of all of the data.

These suggestions can come in various forms. For example, the cloud system may provide recommendations at the purchasing level that suggest improvements in cost for similar outcomes. As another example, the cloud system may provide recommendations at the OR level when the procedure is being planned and outfitted as the less desirable products are being pulled suggest other techniques and product mixes that would be in line with the broader community which is achieving higher outcomes. As yet another example, the cloud system may display outcomes comparison needs to account for surgeon experience, possibly through a count of similar cases performed by that surgeon from cloud data. In some aspects, the learning curve of an individual may be reported against an aggregated larger dataset, as expectation of improved outcomes, or of surgeon performance relative to peers in obtaining a steady state outcome level.

FIG. 26 illustrates one example of how the cloud system 7300 may determine efficacy trends from an aggregated set of data 7302 across whole regions, according to some aspects. Here, for each circle of the set of data 7302, device utilization, cost, and procedure outcomes for a procedure is monitored and compared for a given segment (e.g., individual surgeon, individual hospital, network of hospitals, region, etc.) against device utilization, cost, and procedure outcomes for similar procedures in other segments. These data may possess metadata that associates it to a particular facility. In general, an outcome of a procedure may be linked to multiple types of data associated with it, such as what resources were used, what procedure was performed, who performed the procedure, where the procedure was performed, and so on. The data linked to the outcome may then be presented as a data pair. The data may be subdivided in various ways, such as between good and inferior outcomes, filtered by particular facilities, particular demographics, and so forth. A regional filter 7304 is visually depicted as an example. The data set 7302 contains both good outcomes and inferior outcomes, with the inferior outcomes being darkened for contrast.

FIG. 26 also shows examples of charts that have these distinctions made and may be derived from the aggregated data set 7302, using one or more data pairs. Chart 7306 shows a global analysis in one example, while a regionally segmented analysis is provided in the other chart 7308. Statistical analysis may be performed to determine whether the outcomes are statistically significant. In chart 7306, the cloud system may determine that no statistical difference was found between good outcomes and inferior outcomes based on rates of occurrence. In contrast, in chart 7308, the cloud system may determine that there is a statistically higher occurrence of inferior outcomes for a given region, when filtering for a particular region. Recommendations are presented to share outcomes vs. cost vs. device utilization and all combinations therein to help inform optimization of outcomes against procedure costs with device utilization potentially being a key contributor of differences, according to some aspects.

As another example, a cartridge type and color are monitored for lobectomy procedures for individual surgeons within the same hospital. The data reveals average cost for one surgeon is higher on average for this surgeon, yet average length of stay is less. The hospital is informed by the cloud system and is encouraged to look into differences in device utilization, techniques, etc. in search of improving patient outcomes.

In some aspects, the cloud system may also be configured to provide predictive modeling of changes to procedures, product mixes, and timing for a given localized population or for the general population as a whole. The predictive modeling may be used to assess impact on resource utilization, resource efficiency, and resource performance, as some examples.

FIG. 27 provides an example illustration of some types of analysis the cloud system may be configured to perform to provide the predicting modeling, according to some aspects. The cloud system may combine its knowledge of the required steps and instruments for performing a procedure, and may compare the different avenues via various metrics, such as resources utilized, time, procedural cost, and the like. In this example of chart 7400, a thoracic lobectomy procedure is analyzed using two different types of methods to perform the same procedure. Option A describes a disposable ultrasonic instrument as the method for performing the procedure, while Option B shows a combination of different methods that in the aggregate perform the same procedure. The graphical illustration may help a surgeon or administrator see how the resources are utilized and their cost. Option B is broken down into multiple sections, including sterilization cost, reusable dissectors and additional time in the OR for performing the procedure. The cloud system may be configured to convert these somewhat abstract notions into a quantitative cost value based on combining its knowledge of time spent in the OR, staff salaries and resource costs per unit time in the OR, and resources utilized for sterilization and reusable dissectors and their associated costs. The cloud system may be configured to associate the various amounts of resources and costs with its knowledge of the required steps to perform the thoracic lobectomy procedure using the prescribed method in Option B.

As another example, chart 7404 in FIG. 27 shows a comparison between using an ultrasonic long dissector and a monopolar reusable dissector to perform various portions of a procedure. Chart 7404 shows a comparison in terms of time needed to perform each portion of the procedure for each instrument. The surgeon may then be able to select which instrument may be desired for a particular procedure. The breakout times may be automatically recorded empirically during live procedures, with the times for each portion of the overall procedure broken out due to the cloud system's knowledge of the expected sequence to perform the procedure. Demarcations between each portion may be set by a surgeon providing an input to manually denote when each change occurs. In other cases, the cloud system may utilize situational awareness to determine when a portion of the procedure has ended based on the way the devices are used and not used. The cloud system may aggregate a number of these procedures, performed across multiple surgeons and multiple facilities, and then compute an average time for each section, as an example.

As another example, chart 7402 in FIG. 27 shows an example graphical interface for comparing relative cost when utilizing the ultrasonic long dissector or a monopolar reusable dissector, according to some aspect. The value of each instrument per unit time is displayed for a particular procedure. The data used to generate these values may be similar to those obtained for charts 7400 and 7404, as some examples. The graphical display may allow for a succinct description of the key points of efficiency that would be most useful to make a determination. This analysis may help a surgeon see how valuable each instrument is for a given procedure.

In general, to perform the predictive modeling, the cloud system may combine its knowledge of the exact steps to perform a procedure, what instruments may be used to perform each step, and its aggregated data for how each instrument performs each particular step. A surgeon may not have the combination of such knowledge in order to provide such an assessment alone. The predictive modeling therefore may be the result of continued monitoring and acquisition of data across multiple facilities, the likes of which would not be possible without the cloud system.

In some aspects, the cloud system may also derive the distilled information from multiple sources (e.g., HUB data collection sources, literature, etc.) to identify the optimal procedure technique. Various other examples for how predictive modeling may be utilized include:

In some aspects, when a suggestion is made to a surgeon, the surgeon is given the option to decline future suggestions like this, or to continue. In addition, through interface with the hub, the surgeon may inquire to the cloud system additional information to inform his or her decision. For example, the surgeon may want to isolate the times to a more localized set of data, such as the particular facility or a certain demographic that better caters to the patient undergoing the surgery. The data may change, for example, if the patient is a child or the patient is a woman.

Similar to the above section, the cloud-based system may also be configured to monitor smart instrument configurations and, more generally, configurations that utilize multiple smart instruments, such as an operating room preparing for surgery. For similar reasons as described above, such as to improve medical efficacy and efficiency, it may be useful to compare a procedural setup at any particular medical facility to aggregate data pertaining to the procedural setups at multiple other medical facilities.

The cloud-based system of the present disclosure may be configured to aggregate data pertaining to smart medical instrument configurations and operating room (OR) setups that utilize multiple smart medical instruments. The smart medical instruments may include: manual devices that are communicatively coupled to a medical data tower and are configured to generate sensor data; and robotic instruments that perform procedures in a more automated fashion. The cloud-based system may be configured to detect irregularities in an OR setup, either pertaining to what devices are present in the room and/or what materials are used to create a product mix for a medical procedure. The irregularities may be based on comparing the materials and equipment present in the OR with other setups from other medical facilities for a similar situation. The cloud system may then generate a change in firmware, software, or other settings and transmit those changes to the surgical devices like a device update.

In this way, the cloud-based system of the present disclosure may be able to identify errors and find more accurate causalities that give rise to best practices at a particular facility, which can then be disseminated to all of the other facilities. Furthermore, the cloud-based system may be able to provide the data from all of the disparate sources that no single facility may be able to do on its own. This can lead to safe and more efficient operating room procedures and medical practices in general.

In some aspects, the cloud system may be configured to provide recommendations of instrument configurations, and even generate the appropriate device settings changes, to customize performance to that of a pre-specified user.

For example, the cloud system may focus on a surgical device user or surgeon based on a comparison of current usage of a device with the historic trends of a larger data set. As some examples, the cloud system may provide recommendations of what type of cartridge to use based on what the user has previously used for the particular procedure or just what the particular surgeon desires in general. The cloud system may access data based on the particular surgeon, the type of procedure, and the type of instruments used in order to make this determination.

As another example, the cloud system may provide a recommendation based on an identified anatomy indicated in a display of the cartridge. As another example, the cloud system may provide a recommendation by referring to a baseline surgical device clamping and firing speed, based on local previous usage data that it has stored in its memory. As yet another example, the cloud system may conduct a comparison of current device tissue interaction against a historical average for the same surgeon, or for the same step in the same procedure for a segment of surgeons in the database. The cloud system again may have access to all steps used to perform a procedure, and may access a catalog of all data when performing a particular step in a procedure across all surgeons who have ever performed that procedure in its network. The recommendation may also come from an analysis of how the current surgical device has been observed to interact with tissue historically. This type of analysis may be useful because it is often not the case that large amounts of live patient data can be collected for how a surgical device interacts precisely with the tissue. Furthermore, a surgeon typically knows only his or her experience, and does not have outside knowledge of what other surgeons experience for the same procedure. The cloud, on the other hand, is capable of collecting all of this data and providing new insights that any individual surgeon would not know alone.

As another example: In stapling, more than one of the following are known: cartridge color, stapler type, procedure, procedure step, patient information, clamp force over time, prior firing information, end effector deformations, etc. This information is compared against a historical average for a similar dataset. The current situation is compared against this average, informing the user about the nature of the current firing.

FIG. 28 provides a graphical illustration of a type of example analysis the cloud system may perform to provide these recommendations, according to some aspects. In this example, chart 7500 shows data for parenchyma staple firing analysis. In the bar graphs 7502 are various types of staples used, where each color of staple reflects a different amount of force applied to the surgical site. The y axis (on the left) associated with the bar graphs 7502 reflects a percent level of usage of that type of staple color, and each color shows bar graphs for three different categories: regional average usage (in Japan in this case), global average usage with best outcomes, and the local facility average usage. Based on this data, the cloud system may be configured to develop a recommendation for what staples to change to for a given situation. A series of suggested actions is shown in chart 7506 as a result. The chart 7500 also shows a set of line graphs 7504 that reflect a percentage of prolonged air leaks (the y axis on the right) for each color used, and for each type of category (regional, global average, facility average). If staples are too thick and do not match the level of tissue thickness, there could be holes in the staples that lead to undesirable air leaks. Here, the cloud system may provide a recommendation based on all of the data shown as well as data not shown, according to some aspects. The cloud system may simply provide a recommendation in the form of a letter as the label, and the surgeon may verify whether the data supports such a finding and decide to accept the cloud system's recommendation.

As another example, the cloud system may be configured to provide a recommendation of ultrasonic blade lengths or capacities based on likely to encounter vascular structures in a procedure. Similar to what is described above in reference to FIG. 28, the cloud system may collect the relevant data for blade lengths, and their outcomes that have been obtained from multiple surgical hubs, and illustrate the various outcomes for using different blade lengths on a particular procedure. A recommendation may be provided in a graphical display where the surgeon can verify the recommendation using the graphical presentation created by the cloud system.

In some aspects, the cloud system is also configured to provide recommendations to the staff about which devices to pull for an upcoming procedure. These recommendations may be based on a combination of surgeon preference (pick list) against historical device utilization rates for the same procedures performed by some segment of the larger database, as well as average recommendations or utilizations across different facilities that produce the best results. The data may be obtained by pairing good outcomes with the metadata, such as what devices were used to achieve those good outcomes. Recommendations can be influenced by other factors, including patient information, demographic data, etc.

Relatedly, in some aspects, the cloud system may also provide identification of pulled instruments that might not be the preferred device for a given procedure. The blacklisting of sorts can more clearly eliminate any obviously flaw uses of devices to help surgeons make the best decisions. This data may be obtained from manufacturer input, analysis of poor outcomes, specific input provided to the cloud system, and so on.

In addition, based on interrogating tissue for properties (elasticity, impedance, perfusion rate), a specific device with a given parameter set (clamp preload) could be suggested to be used from current stock in inventory by the cloud system. Some of the metadata associated with the outcomes of past procedures may include a description of the type of tissue being operated on, and an associated description of the physical characteristics of that tissue. The cloud system may then draw trends or patterns based on different types of procedures, but having in common all procedures that deal with similar types of tissue. This kind of analysis may be used as a secondary recommendation, when a new or unknown procedure must take place and new suggestions are welcome. If the recommendation is accepted, the cloud system may be configured to generate the change in parameters and transmit them to the interconnected medical device, through the surgical hub, to make the medical device readily available for use in the adjusted procedure.

In some aspects, the device setup recommendations can include suggestions of adjuncts for devices based on the pre-surgery imaging or locally collected data during the beginning of a procedure. That is, this suggestion of adjuncts may be for use on or with devices based on the local correlation of use to efficacy of the device. As an example, based on a given procedure, surgeon, and patient information, bleeding in a case must be tightly controlled, and therefore the cloud system may conclude that a buttress is recommended on all staple firings.

In some aspects, the cloud system may also be configured to provide awareness of any newly-launched products that are available and suitable for operation as well as instructions for use (IFU). The data may be gathered from one or more surgical hubs, or from direct factory input for the newly-launched products. The cloud system can download the information and make the information displayable to multiple medical hubs across multiple facilities.

In some aspects, regarding any of the above examples for recommendations being provided by the cloud system, the cloud system may also conversely provide alerts or other signals when a device or suggested setup is not followed or is disregarded. The cloud system may be configured to access procedural data from a surgical hub during a surgical procedure, for example. The surgical hub may collect data for what type of devices are in use during a procedure. The cloud system may monitor the progress of the procedure by verifying if an accepted method or device is used in the correct or prescribed order for the procedure. If there is a deviation, in that a particular device is not expected or a step is missed, the cloud system may send an alert to the surgical hub that a particular device is not being used properly, as an example. This would occur in real time, as the timing of the procedure is important for the patient's safety.

In some aspects, the cloud-based system may also be configured to provide recommendations or automatically adjust surgical instrument settings to account for specific differences at a medical facility. While there are a number of similarities that can be normalized across multiple facilities, there may also be particular differences that should be accounted for. For example, patient demographic differences, patient physiological differences more native to a local population, procedural differences—for example preferences by each individual surgeon—and region specific instrument availability or other differences may inspire certain adjustments to be made at any particular medical facility.

The cloud-based system of the present disclosure may be configured to aggregate not only data pertaining to smart medical instrument configurations and operating room (OR) setups that utilize multiple smart medical instruments, but also data that highlight specific differences that may be unique to that region or that particular medical facility. The cloud-based system may then factor in adjustments to device settings or recommendations to changes in procedures based on these differences. For example, the cloud-based system may first provide a baseline recommendation for how a smart instrument should be used, based on best practices discovered in the aggregate data. Then, the cloud-based system may augment the recommendation to account for one or more unique differences specific to a medical facility. Examples of these differences are described above. The cloud-based system may be made aware of what demographics and patient data gave rise to the optimal baseline procedure, and then compare the local facility demographics and patient data against that. The cloud-based system may develop or extrapolate a correlation from that baseline setting in order to develop an adjustment or offset that accounts for the differences in demographics and patient data.

In this way, the cloud-based system of the present disclosure may be able to make optimal adjustments specific to each medical facility or even specific to each operating room, or surgeon. The adjustments may offer improved performance that take into account the observed best practices as well as any unique differences.

In some aspects, the cloud system may be configured to provide changes to instrument variation of usage to improve outcomes. For example, the cloud system may determine a localized undesirable effect that is due to a specific manner of utilizing a surgical device. FIG. 29 provides an illustration of how the cloud system may conduct analysis to identify a statistical correlation to a local issue that is tied to how a device is used in the localized setting. The cloud 7600 may aggregate usage data of all types of devices and record their outcomes. The data set may be filtered down to only those outcomes that utilized the particular device in question. The cloud system may then perform statistical analysis to determine if there is a trend in how the procedures are performed at a particular facility when utilizing that device. A pattern may emerge that suggests there is a consistent flaw in how the device is used at that facility, represented as the data points 7602 that demonstrate the statistical correlation. Additional data may then be examined, to see if a second pattern may arise in comparison to how others are using the device in the aggregate. A suggestion may be provided once a pattern is identified and addressed to the local outlier 7604. In other cases, the cloud system may provide a facility-specific update to the device to offset the local practice of how that device is used.

In some aspects, the cloud system may be configured to communicate the deviation to the specific user and the recommendation of a differing technique or usage to improve outcomes from the specific device. The cloud system may transmit the data for display at the surgical hub to illustrate what changes ought to be made.

As an example: A stapler configured with a means to sense the force required to clamp the device transmits data indicating that the clamp force is still rapidly changing (viscoelastic creep) when the surgeon initiates firing of the staple, and it is observed that the staple line bleeds more often than expected. The cloud system and/or device is able to communicate a need to wait longer (e.g., 15 seconds) before firing the device to improve outcomes. This may be based on performing the statistical analysis described in FIG. 29 using data points from similar procedures aggregated from multiple surgeons and multiple facilities. In the moment of the surgery, it would be infeasible or impractical for anybody on the surgery team to come to these conclusions without the help of the cloud system aggregating such knowledge and arriving at such conclusions.

In some aspects, the cloud system may also be configured for intentional deployment of control algorithms to devices with an in-use criteria meeting specific criteria. For regional differences, the cloud system may adjust the control algorithms of various surgical devices. A different amount of force may be applied to a device for patients in a different demographic, for example. As another example, surgeons may have different uses for a type of surgical device, and control algorithms can be adjusted to account for this. The cloud system may be configured to send out a wide area update to a device, and may target the regional and specific instrument IDs which allow for targeted updates to their control programs.

In some aspects, the cloud system may provide for coding of the serial numbers of sales units and/or individual devices, which enables updated control programs to be pushed to a specific device or specific groups of devices based on meeting a specific criteria or threshold.

In addition, according to some aspects, the cloud system may be configured to perform analysis of perioperative data against outcomes data seeking correlations that identify exceptional results (positive and negative). The analysis may be performed at multiple levels (e.g., individual, hospital, and geographic (e.g., city, county, state, country, etc.) filters). Furthermore, regional corroboration of improved outcomes may be target for only a limited geographic area, as it is known that the changes occur only within a limited area. The ability to tune devices to regional preferences, techniques, and surgical preferences may allow for nuanced improvements for regionally specific areas.

In addition to directly changing instrument settings, the cloud system may also be configured to provide recommendations on different instruments or equivalent device suggestions due to regional availability. That is, an equivalent suggestion to a device to perform a particular function may be recommended by the cloud system, in the event a device is lacking and a particular region has an excess or general availability of the different device that may be used to serve an equivalent purpose.

For example, the cloud system may determine that PPH hemorrhoid stapling devices or curved cutter 30 devices are only available in Italy due to a unique procedure configuration or teaching hospital procedure design. As another example, the cloud system may determine that there is an Asia-specific TX and open vascular stapler use due to cost sensitivity, lack of laparoscopic adoption, and teaching hospital preferred techniques and patient thoracic cavity size. As another example, the cloud system may provide awareness messages to OR staff of sub-standard knock-off products available in a certain region. This data may be derived from an ingestion of information from multiple sources, such as inputs provided by experts and doctors, and employing machine learning and natural language processing to interpret trends and news related to a local area. FIG. 30 provides a graphical illustration of an example of how some devices may satisfy an equivalent use compared to an intended device. Here, a circular stapling device 7702 is compared to a compression ring 7704 for use in a PPH stapler 7700 for hemorrhoidopexy procedures. The type of analysis performed to reach the recommendations by the cloud system may be similar to those described in FIG. 29. The cloud system may provide a display of this suggestion, as well as an analysis of its efficiency and resource utilization, in example display 7706 that may be shown at a display in a surgical hub. In this case, the instrument cost is compared, as well as time and efficacy for each type of instrument. The cloud system may derive these recommendations by obtaining usage examples from different facilities, observing how other facilities and doctors treat the same procedure.

In some aspects, the cloud system may also be configured to provide a surgical hub decision tree and local suggestions of post-operative care, based on data processed during the procedure and Cloud Analytics trending of results or performance of the devices aggregated from larger population sets.

In some aspects, the cloud system may provide update-able decision trees for post-operative care suggestions, based on device measured situational usage. The post-operative care decisions may initially be derived from traditionally known responses that doctors would normally recommend. Once additional data becomes available, say from aggregating types of post-operative care from other facilities, or from analyzing new types of care from literature or from research on new surgical devices, the decision can be updated by the cloud system. The decision tree may be displayable at a surgical hub and in a graphical form.

In using this decision tree, feedback can be provided for each node to state how effective the current solutions are. The data may be inputted based on whatever feedback patients may provide. A doctor or data admin need not perform any analysis at the time, but the cloud system can aggregate all of the data and observe what trends may arise. Feedback can then be provided to update the decision tree.

In some aspects, the cloud system may incorporate operative data & device performance to propose post-operative monitoring & activities. For example, various patient measures may change what decisions in post-operative care should be taken. These measurements can include but are not limited to: (a) blood pressure; (b) low hematocrit; (c) PTT (partial thromboplastin time); (d) INR (international normalized ratio); (e) Oxygen saturation; (f) Ventilation changes; and (g) X-Ray data.

As another example, anesthesia protocol can dictate what post-operative decisions should be taken. This may account for: (a) any fluids administered; (b) Anesthesia time; and (3) Medications, as some non-limiting examples.

As another example, the types of medications may also play a role. The application of Warfarin is one notable example. A patient post-operatively has abnormal PTT and INR, for example. Because the patient is on Warfarin, potential treatments could include vitamin K, factor 7, or the delivery of plasma (fpp). Plavix can be another example. A patient post-operatively has abnormal PTT and INR. Because patient is on Plavix, potential treatments for Warfarin would be ineffective. Deliver platelets instead may be the suggestion in the decision tree.

As a fourth example, post-operative instructions may be provided that are dependent on the type of procedure. Some non-limiting examples include colorectal time to solid food (motility); and (b) time to physical activity & PT. These varying decisions can be reflected in the decision tree, and all of the types of branching decisions may be stored in the cloud system and updated when additional data is gained from any connected facility.

FIG. 31 provides various examples of how some data may be used as variables in deciding how the post-operative decision tree may branch out. As shown, some factors 7802 may include the parameters used in surgical devices, such as the force to fire (FTF) used in an operation, or the force to close (FTC) used in a surgical device. Graph 7800 shows a visual depiction of how the FTC and FTF curves may interrelate with one another. Other factors include compression rate, wait time, and staple adaptability. Based on some of these variables, a type of post-operative care should be adjusted. In this case, a multi-factored analysis is applied, which may be too complex to calculate or modify without the aid of the processing power of a system like the cloud system. This example suggests that a decision tree 7804 provided by the cloud system can be more than a simple two dimensional decision tree. To account for multiple variables to make a single decision, the decision tree generated by the cloud may be visually available for perhaps just a portion, and the ultimate conclusion may have to be displayed without a full display of all of the other branches that were not considered. The chart 7806 may be an example of providing additional information of how to respond within the decision tree.

Adaptive Control Program Updates For Surgical Devices

Modular devices include the modules (as described in connection with FIGS. 3 and 9, for example) that are receivable within a surgical hub and the surgical devices or instruments that can be connected to the various modules. The modular devices include, for example, intelligent surgical instruments, medical imaging devices, suction/irrigation devices, smoke evacuators, energy generators, ventilators, and insufflators. Various operations of the modular devices described herein can be controlled by one or more control algorithms. The control algorithms can be executed on the modular device itself, on the surgical hub to which the particular modular device is paired, or on both the modular device and the surgical hub (e.g., via a distributed computing architecture). In some exemplifications, the modular devices' control algorithms control the devices based on data sensed by the modular device itself (i.e., by sensors in, on, or connected to the modular device). This data can be related to the patient being operated on (e.g., tissue properties or insufflation pressure) or the modular device itself (e.g., the rate at which a knife is being advanced, motor current, or energy levels). For example, a control algorithm for a surgical stapling and cutting instrument can control the rate at which the instrument's motor drives its knife through tissue according to resistance encountered by the knife as it advances.

Although an “intelligent” device including control algorithms that respond to sensed data can be an improvement over a “dumb” device that operates without accounting for sensed data, if the device's control program does not adapt or update over time in response to collected data, then the devices may continue to repeat errors or otherwise perform suboptimally. One solution includes transmitting operational data collected by the modular devices in combination with the outcomes of each procedure (or step thereof) to an analytics system. In one exemplification, the procedural outcomes can be inferred by a situational awareness system of a surgical hub to which the modular devices are paired, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,654, titled SURGICAL HUB SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The analytics system can analyze the data aggregated from a set of modular devices or a particular type of modular device to determine under what conditions the control programs of the analyzed modular devices are controlling the modular devices suboptimally (i.e., if there are repeated faults or errors in the control program or if an alternative algorithm performs in a superior manner) or under what conditions medical personnel are utilizing the modular devices suboptimally. The analytics system can then generate an update to fix or improve the modular devices' control programs. Different types of modular devices can be controlled by different control programs; therefore, the control program updates can be specific to the type of modular device that the analytics system determines is performing suboptimally. The analytics system can then push the update to the appropriate modular devices connected to the analytics system through the surgical hubs.

FIG. 32 illustrates a block diagram of a computer-implemented adaptive surgical system 9060 that is configured to adaptively generate control program updates for modular devices 9050, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. In one exemplification, the surgical system includes a surgical hub 9000, multiple modular devices 9050 communicably coupled to the surgical hub 9000, and an analytics system 9100 communicably coupled to the surgical hub 9000. Although a single surgical hub 9000 is depicted, it should be noted that the surgical system 9060 can include any number of surgical hubs 9000, which can be connected to form a network of surgical hubs 9000 that are communicably coupled to the analytics system 9010. In one exemplification, the surgical hub 9000 includes a processor 9010 coupled to a memory 9020 for executing instructions stored thereon and a data relay interface 9030 through which data is transmitted to the analytics system 9100. In one exemplification, the surgical hub 9000 further includes a user interface 9090 having an input device 9092 (e.g., a capacitive touchscreen or a keyboard) for receiving inputs from a user and an output device 9094 (e.g., a display screen) for providing outputs to a user. Outputs can include data from a query input by the user, suggestions for products or mixes of products to use in a given procedure, and/or instructions for actions to be carried out before, during, or after surgical procedures. The surgical hub 9000 further includes an interface 9040 for communicably coupling the modular devices 9050 to the surgical hub 9000. In one aspect, the interface 9040 includes a transceiver that is communicably connectable to the modular device 9050 via a wireless communication protocol. The modular devices 9050 can include, for example, surgical stapling and cutting instruments, electrosurgical instruments, ultrasonic instruments, insufflators, respirators, and display screens. In one exemplification, the surgical hub 9000 can further be communicably coupled to one or more patient monitoring devices 9052, such as EKG monitors or BP monitors. In another exemplification, the surgical hub 9000 can further be communicably coupled to one or more databases 9054 or external computer systems, such as an EMR database of the medical facility at which the surgical hub 9000 is located.

When the modular devices 9050 are connected to the surgical hub 9000, the surgical hub 9000 can sense or receive perioperative data from the modular devices 9050 and then associate the received perioperative data with surgical procedural outcome data. The perioperative data indicates how the modular devices 9050 were controlled during the course of a surgical procedure. The procedural outcome data includes data associated with a result from the surgical procedure (or a step thereof), which can include whether the surgical procedure (or a step thereof) had a positive or negative outcome. For example, the outcome data could include whether a patient suffered from postoperative complications from a particular procedure or whether there was leakage (e.g., bleeding or air leakage) at a particular staple or incision line. The surgical hub 9000 can obtain the surgical procedural outcome data by receiving the data from an external source (e.g., from an EMR database 9054), by directly detecting the outcome (e.g., via one of the connected modular devices 9050), or inferring the occurrence of the outcomes through a situational awareness system. For example, data regarding postoperative complications could be retrieved from an EMR database 9054 and data regarding staple or incision line leakages could be directly detected or inferred by a situational awareness system. The surgical procedural outcome data can be inferred by a situational awareness system from data received from a variety of data sources, including the modular devices 9050 themselves, the patient monitoring device 9052, and the databases 9054 to which the surgical hub 9000 is connected.

The surgical hub 9000 can transmit the associated modular device 9050 data and outcome data to the analytics system 9100 for processing thereon. By transmitting both the perioperative data indicating how the modular devices 9050 are controlled and the procedural outcome data, the analytics system 9100 can correlate the different manners of controlling the modular devices 9050 with surgical outcomes for the particular procedure type. In one exemplification, the analytics system 9100 includes a network of analytics servers 9070 that are configured to receive data from the surgical hubs 9000. Each of the analytics servers 9070 can include a memory and a processor coupled to the memory that is executing instructions stored thereon to analyze the received data. In some exemplifications, the analytics servers 9070 are connected in a distributed computing architecture and/or utilize a cloud computing architecture. Based on this paired data, the analytics system 9100 can then learn optimal or preferred operating parameters for the various types of modular devices 9050, generate adjustments to the control programs of the modular devices 9050 in the field, and then transmit (or “push”) updates to the modular devices' 9050 control programs.

Additional detail regarding the computer-implemented interactive surgical system 9060, including the surgical hub 9000 and various modular devices 9050 connectable thereto, are described in connection with FIGS. 9-10.

FIG. 33 illustrates a logic flow diagram of a process 9200 for updating the control program of a modular device 9050, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. In the following description of the process 9200, reference should also be made to FIG. 32. The process 9200 can be executed by, for example, one or more processors of the analytics servers 9070 of the analytics system 9100. In one exemplification, the analytics system 9100 can be a cloud computing system. For economy, the following description of the process 9200 will be described as being executed by the analytics system 9100; however, it should be understood that the analytics system 9100 includes processor(s) and/or control circuit(s) that are executing the describe steps of the process 9200.

The analytics system 9100 receives 9202 modular device 9050 perioperative data and surgical procedural outcome data from one or more of the surgical hubs 9000 that are communicably connected to the analytics system 9100. The perioperative data includes preoperative data, intraoperative data, and/or postoperative data detected by a modular device 9050 in association with a given surgical procedure. For modular devices 9050 or particular functions of modular devices 9050 that are manually controlled, the perioperative data indicates the manner in which a surgical staff member operated the modular devices 9050. For modular devices 9050 or particular functions of modular devices 9050 that are controlled by the modular devices' control programs, the perioperative data indicates the manner in which the control programs operated the modular devices 9050. The manner in which the modular devices 9050 function under particular sets of conditions (either due to manual control or control by the modular devices' 9050 control programs) can be referred to as the “operational behavior” exhibited by the modular device 9050. The modular device 9050 perioperative data includes data regarding the state of the modular device 9050 (e.g., the force to fire or force to close for a surgical stapling and cutting instrument or the power output for an electrosurgical or ultrasonic instrument), tissue data measured by the modular device 9050 (e.g., impedance, thickness, or stiffness), and other data that can be detected by a modular device 9050. The perioperative data indicates the manner in which the modular devices 9050 were programmed to operate or were manually controlled during the course of a surgical procedure because it indicates how the modular devices 9050 functioned in response to various detected conditions.

The surgical procedural outcome data includes data pertaining to an overall outcome of a surgical procedure (e.g., whether there was a complication during the surgical procedure) or data pertaining to an outcome of a specific step within a surgical procedure (e.g., whether a particular staple line bled or leaked). The procedural outcome data can, for example, be directly detected by the modular devices 9050 and/or surgical hub 9000 (e.g., a medical imaging device can visualize or detect bleeding), determined or inferred by a situational awareness system of the surgical hub 9000 as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,654, or retrieved from a database 9054 (e.g., an EMR database) by the surgical hub 9000 or the analytics system 9100. The procedural outcome data can include whether each outcome represented by the data was a positive or negative result. Whether each outcome was positive or negative can be determined by the modular devices 9050 themselves and included in the perioperative data transmitted to the surgical hubs 9000 or determined or inferred by the surgical hubs 9000 from the received perioperative data. For example, the procedural outcome data for a staple line that bled could include that the bleeding represented a negative outcome. Similarly, the procedural outcome data for a staple line that did not bleed could include that the lack of bleeding represented a positive outcome. In another exemplification, the analytics system 9100 can be configured to determine whether a procedural outcome is a positive or negative outcome based upon the received procedural outcome data. In some exemplifications, correlating the modular device 9050 data to positive or negative procedural outcomes allows the analytics system 9100 to determine whether a control program update should be generated 9208.

Upon the analytics system 9100 receiving 9202 the data, the analytics system 9100 analyzes the modular device 9050 and procedural outcome data to determine 9204 whether the modular devices 9050 are being utilized suboptimally in connection with the particular procedure or the particular step of the procedure. A modular device 9050 can be controlled suboptimally if the particular manner in which the modular device 9050 is being controlled is repeatedly causing an error or if an alternative manner of controlling the modular device 9050 is superior under the same conditions. The analytics system 9100 can thus determine whether a modular device 9050 is being controlled suboptimally (either manually or by its control program) by comparing the rate of positive and/or negative outcomes produced by the modular device 9050 relative to set thresholds or the performance of other modular devices 9050 of the same type.

For example, the analytics system 9100 can determine whether a type of modular device 9050 is being operated suboptimally if the rate of negative procedural outcomes produced by the modular device 9050 under a particular set of conditions in association with a particular operational behavior exceeds an average or threshold level. As a specific example, the analytics system 9100 can analyze 9204 whether a control program for a surgical stapling instrument that dictates a particular force to fire (or ranges of forces to fire) is suboptimal for a particular tissue thickness and tissue type. If the analytics system 9100 determines that the instrument generates an abnormally high rate of leaky staple lines when fired at the particular force (e.g., causing the staples to be malformed, not fully penetrate the tissue, or tear the tissue) relative to an average or threshold staple line leakage rate, then the analytics system 9100 can determine that the control program for the surgical stapling instrument is performing suboptimally given the tissue conditions.

As another example, the analytics system 9100 can determine whether a type of modular device 9050 is being operated suboptimally if the rate of positive outcomes produced by an alternative manner of control under a particular set of conditions in association with a particular operational behavior exceeds the rate of positive outcomes generated by the analyzed manner of control under the same conditions. In other words, if one subpopulation of the type of modular device 9050 exhibits a first operational behavior under a certain set of conditions and a second subpopulation of the same type of modular device 9050 exhibits a second operational behavior under the same set of conditions, then the analytics system 9100 can determine whether to update the control programs of the modular devices 9050 according to whether the first or second operational behavior is more highly correlated to a positive procedural outcome. As a specific example, the analytics system 9100 can analyze 9204 whether a control program for an RF electrosurgical or ultrasonic instrument that dictates a particular energy level is suboptimal for a particular tissue type and environmental conditions. If the analytics system 9100 determines that a first energy level given a set of tissue conditions and environmental conditions (e.g., the instrument being located in a liquid-filled environment, as in an arthroscopic procedure) produces a lower rate of hemostasis than a second energy level, then the analytics system 9100 can determine that the control program for the electrosurgical or ultrasonic instrument dictating the first energy level is performing suboptimally for the given tissue and environmental conditions.

After analyzing 9204 the data, the analytics system 9100 determines 9206 whether to update the control program. If the analytics system 9100 determines that the modular device 9050 is not being controlled suboptimally, then the process 9200 continues along the NO branch and the analytics system 9100 continues analyzing 9204 received 9202 data, as described above. If the analytics system 9100 determines that the modular device 9050 is being controlling suboptimally, then the process 9200 continues along the YES branch and the analytics system 9100 generates 9208 a control program update. The generated 9208 control program update includes, for example, a new version of the control program for the particular type of modular device 9050 to overwrite the prior version or a patch that partially overwrites or supplements the prior version.

The type of control program update that is generated 9208 by the analytics system 9100 depends upon the particular suboptimal behavior exhibited by the modular device 9050 that is identified by the analytics system 9100. For example, if the analytics system 9100 determines that a particular force to fire a surgical stapling instrument results in an increased rate of leaking staple lines, then the analytics system 9100 can generate 9208 a control program update that adjusts the force to fire from a first value to a second value that corresponds to a higher rate of non-leaking staple lines or a lower rate of leaking staple lines. As another example, if the analytics system 9100 determines that a particular energy level for an electrosurgical or ultrasonic instrument produces a low rate of hemostasis when the instrument is used in a liquid-filled environment (e.g., due to the energy dissipating effects of the liquid), then the analytics system 9100 can generated 9208 a control program update that adjusts the energy level of the instrument when it is utilized in surgical procedures where the instrument will be immersed in liquid.

The type of control program update that is generated 9208 by the analytics system 9100 also depends upon whether the suboptimal behavior exhibited by the modular device 9050 is caused by manual control or control by the control program of the modular device 9050. If the suboptimal behavior is caused by manual control, the control program update can be configured to provide warnings, recommendations, or feedback to the users based upon the manner in which they are operating the modular devices 9050. Alternatively, the control program update can change the manually controlled operation of the modular device 9050 to an operation that is controlled by the control program of the modular device 9050. The control program update may or may not permit the user to override the control program's control of the particular function. In one exemplification, if the analytics system 9100 determines 9204 that surgeons are manually setting an RF electrosurgical instrument to a suboptimal energy level for a particular tissue type or procedure type, then the analytics system 9100 can generate 9208 a control program update that provides an alert (e.g., on the surgical hub 9000 or the RF electrosurgical instrument itself) recommending that the energy level be changed. In another exemplification, the generated 9208 control program update can automatically set the energy level to a default or recommended level given the particular detected circumstances, which could then be changed as desired by the medical facility staff. In yet another exemplification, the generated 9208 control program update can automatically set the energy level to a set level determined by the analytics system 9100 and not permit the medical facility staff to change the energy level. If the suboptimal behavior is caused by the control program of the modular device 9050, then the control program update can alter how the control program functions under the particular set of circumstances that the control program is performing suboptimally under.

Once the control program update has been generated 9208 by the analytics system 9100, the analytics system 9100 then transmits 9210 or pushes the control program update to all of the modular devices 9050 of the relevant type that are connected to the analytics system 9100. The modular devices 9050 can be connected to the analytics system 9100 through the surgical hubs 900, for example. In one exemplification, the surgical hubs 9000 are configured to download the control program updates for the various types of modular devices 9050 from the analytics system 9100 each time an update is generated 9208 thereby. When the modular devices 9050 subsequently connect to or pair with a surgical hub 9000, the modular devices 9050 then automatically download any control program updates therefrom. In one exemplification, the analytics system 9100 can thereafter continue receiving 9202 and analyzing 9204 data from the modular devices 9050, as described above.

In one exemplification, instead of the modular devices 9050 transmitting recorded data to a surgical hub 9000 to which the modular devices 9050 are connected, the modular devices 9050 are configured to record the perioperative data and the procedural outcome data on a memory of the modular device 9050. The data can be stored for indefinitely or until the data is downloaded from the modular devices 9050. This allows the data to be retrieved at a later time. For example, the modular devices 9050 could be returned to the manufacturer after they are utilized in a surgical procedure. The manufacturer could then download the data from the modular devices 9050 and then analyze the data as described above to determine whether a control program update should be generated for the modular devices 9050. In one exemplification, the data could be uploaded to an analytics system 9100 for analysis, as described above. The analytics system 9100 could then generate update control programs according to the recorded data and then either incorporate that update in future manufactured product or push the update to modular devices 9050 currently in the field.

In order to assist in the understanding of the process 9200 illustrated in FIG. 33 and the other concepts discussed above, FIG. 34 illustrates a diagram of an illustrative analytics system 9100 updating a surgical instrument control program, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. In one exemplification, a surgical hub 9000 or network of surgical hubs 9000 is communicably coupled to an analytics system 9100, as illustrated above in FIG. 32. The analytics system 9100 is configured to filter and analyze modular device 9050 data associated with surgical procedural outcome data to determine whether adjustments need to be made to the control programs of the modular devices 9050. The analytics system 9100 can then push updates to the modular devices 9050 through the surgical hubs 9000, as necessary. In the depicted exemplification, the analytics system 9100 comprises a cloud computing architecture. The modular device 9050 perioperative data received by the surgical 9000 hubs from their paired modular devices 9050 can include, for example, force to fire (i.e., the force required to advance a cutting member of a surgical stapling instrument through a tissue), force to close (i.e., the force required to clamp the jaws of a surgical stapling instrument on a tissue), the power algorithm (i.e., change in power over time of electrosurgical or ultrasonic instruments in response to the internal states of the instrument and/or tissue conditions), tissue properties (e.g., impedance, thickness, stiffness, etc.), tissue gap (i.e., the thickness of the tissue), and closure rate (i.e., the rate at which the jaws of the instrument clamped shut). It should be noted that the modular device 9050 data that is transmitted to the analytics system 9100 is not limited to a single type of data and can include multiple different data types paired with procedural outcome data. The procedural outcome data for a surgical procedure (or step thereof) can include, for example, whether there was bleeding at the surgical site, whether there was air or fluid leakage at the surgical site, and whether the staples of a particular staple line were formed properly. The procedural outcome data can further include or be associated with a positive or negative outcome, as determined by the surgical hub 9000 or the analytics system 9100, for example. The modular device 9050 data and the procedural outcome data corresponding to the modular device 9050 perioperative data can be paired together or otherwise associated with each other when they are uploaded to the analytics system 9100 so that the analytics system 9100 is able to recognize trends in procedural outcomes based on the underlying data of the modular devices 9050 that produced each particular outcome. In other words, the analytics system 9100 can aggregate the modular device 9050 data and the procedural outcome data to search for trends or patterns in the underlying device modular data 9050 that can indicate adjustments that can be made to the modular devices' 9050 control programs.

In the depicted exemplification, the analytics system 9100 executing the process 9200 described in connection with FIG. 32 is receiving 9202 modular device 9050 data and procedural outcome data. When transmitted to the analytics system 9100, the procedural outcome data can be associated or paired with the modular device 9050 data corresponding to the operation of the modular device 9050 that caused the particular procedural outcome. The modular device 9050 perioperative data and corresponding procedural outcome data can be referred to as a data pair. The data is depicted as including a first group 9212 of data associated with successful procedural outcomes and a second group 9214 of data associated with negative procedural outcomes. For this particular exemplification, a subset of the data 9212, 9214 received 9202 by the analytics system 9100 is highlighted to further elucidate the concepts discussed herein.

For a first data pair 9212 a, the modular device 9050 data includes the force to close (FTC) over time, the force to fire (FTF) over time, the tissue type (parenchyma), the tissue conditions (the tissue is from a patient suffering from emphysema and had been subject to radiation), what number firing this was for the instrument (third), an anonymized time stamp (to protect patient confidentiality while still allowing the analytics system to calculate elapsed time between firings and other such metrics), and an anonymized patient identifier (002). The procedural outcome data includes data indicating that there was no bleeding, which corresponds to a successful outcome (i.e., a successful firing of the surgical stapling instrument). For a second data pair 9212 b, the modular device 9050 data includes the wait time prior the instrument being fired (which corresponds to the first firing of the instrument), the FTC over time, the FTF over time (which indicates that there was a force spike near the end of the firing stroke), the tissue type (1.1 mm vessel), the tissue conditions (the tissue had been subject to radiation), what number firing this was for the instrument (first), an anonymized time stamp, and an anonymized patient identifier (002). The procedural outcome data includes data indicating that there was a leak, which corresponds to a negative outcome (i.e., a failed firing of the surgical stapling instrument). For a third data pair 9212 c, the modular device 9050 data includes the wait time prior the instrument being fired (which corresponds to the first firing of the instrument), the FTC over time, the FTF over time, the tissue type (1.8 mm vessel), the tissue conditions (no notable conditions), what number firing this was for the instrument (first), an anonymized time stamp, and an anonymized patient identifier (012). The procedural outcome data includes data indicating that there was a leak, which corresponds to a negative outcome (i.e., a failed firing of the surgical stapling instrument). It should be noted again that this data is intended solely for illustrative purposes to assist in the understanding of the concepts discussed herein and should not be interpreted to limit the data that is received and/or analyzed by the analytics system 9100 to generate control program updates.

When the analytics system 9100 receives 9202 perioperative data from the communicably connected surgical hubs 9000, the analytics system 9100 proceeds to aggregate and/or store the data according to the procedure type (or a step thereof) associated with the data, the type of the modular device 9050 that generated the data, and other such categories. By collating the data accordingly, the analytics system 9100 can analyze the data set to identify correlations between particular ways of controlling each particular type of modular device 9050 and positive or negative procedural outcomes. Based upon whether a particular manner of controlling a modular device 9050 correlates to positive or negative procedural outcomes, the analytics system 9100 can determine 9204 whether the control program for the type of modular device 9050 should be updated.

For this particular exemplification, the analytics system 9100 performs a first analysis 9216 a of the data set by analyzing the peak FTF 9213 (i.e., the maximum FTF for each particular firing of a surgical stapling instrument) relative to the number of firings 9211 for each peak FTF value. In this exemplary case, the analytics system 9100 can determine that there is no particular correlation between the peak FTF 9213 and the occurrence of positive or negative outcomes for the particular data set. In other words, there are not distinct distributions for the peak FTF 9213 for positive and negative outcomes. As there is no particular correlation between peak FTF 9213 and positive or negative outcomes, the analytics system 9100 would thus determine that a control program update to address this variable is not necessary. Further, the analytics system 9100 performs a second analysis 9216 b of the data set by analyzing the wait time 9215 prior to the instrument being fired relative to the number of firings 9211. For this particular analysis 9216 b, the analytics system 9100 can determine that there is a distinct negative outcome distribution 9217 and a positive outcome distribution 9219. In this exemplary case, the negative outcome distribution 9217 has a mean of 4 seconds and the positive outcome distribution has a mean of 11 seconds. Thus, the analytics system 9100 can determine that there is a correlation between the wait time 9215 and the type of outcome for this surgical procedure step. Namely, the negative outcome distribution 9217 indicates that there is a relatively large rate of negative outcomes for wait times of 4 seconds or less. Based on this analysis 9216 b demonstrating that there is a large divergence between the negative outcome distribution 9217 and the positive outcome distribution 9219, the analytics system 9100 can then determine 9204 that a control program update should be generated 9208.

Once the analytics system 9100 analyzes the data set and determines 9204 that an adjustment to the control program of the particular module device 9050 that is the subject of the data set would improve the performance of the modular device 9050, the analytics system 9100 then generates 9208 a control program update accordingly. In this exemplary case, the analytics system 9100 can determine based on the analysis 9216 b of the data set that a control program update 9218 recommending a wait time of more than 5 seconds would prevent 90% of the distribution of the negative outcomes with a 95% confidence interval. Alternatively, the analytics system 9100 can determine based on the analysis 9216 b of the data set that a control program update 9218 recommending a wait time of more than 5 seconds would result in the rate of positive outcomes being greater than the rate of negative outcomes. The analytics system 9100 could thus determine that the particular type of surgical instrument should wait more than 5 seconds before being fired under the particular tissue conditions so that negative outcomes are less common than positive outcomes. Based on either or both of these constraints for generating 9208 a control program update that the analytics system 9100 determines are satisfied by the analysis 9216 b, the analytics system 9100 can generate 9208 a control program update 9218 for the surgical instrument that causes the surgical instrument, under the given circumstances, to either impose a 5 second or longer wait time before the particular surgical instrument can be fired or causes the surgical instrument to display a warning or recommendation to the user that indicates to the user that the user should wait at least 5 seconds before firing the instrument. Various other constraints can be utilized by the analytics system 9100 in determining whether to generate 9208 a control program update, such as whether a control program update would reduce the rate of negative outcomes by a certain percentage or whether a control program update maximizes the rate of positive outcomes.

After the control program update 9218 is generated 9208, the analytics system 9100 then transmits 9210 the control program update 9218 for the appropriate type of modular devices 9050 to the surgical hubs 9000. In one exemplification, when a modular device 9050 that corresponds to the control program update 9218 is next connected to a surgical hub 9000 that has downloaded the control program update 9218, the modular device 9050 then automatically downloads the update 9218. In another exemplification, the surgical hub 9000 controls the modular device 9050 according to the control program update 9218, rather than the control program update 9218 being transmitted directly to the modular device 9050 itself.

In one aspect, the surgical system 9060 is configured to push down verification of software parameters and updates if modular devices 9050 are detected to be out of date in the surgical hub 9000 data stream. FIG. 35 illustrates a diagram of an analytics system 9100 pushing an update to a modular device 9050 through a surgical hub 9000, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. In one exemplification, the analytics system 9000 is configured to transmit a generated control program update for a particular type of modular device 9050 to a surgical hub 9000. In one aspect, each time a modular device 9050 connects to a surgical hub 9000, the modular device 9050 determines whether there is an updated version of its control program on or otherwise accessible via the surgical hub 9000. If the surgical hub 9000 does have an updated control program (or the updated control program is otherwise available from the analytics system 9100) for the particular type of modular device 9050, then the modular device 9050 downloads the control program update therefrom.

In one exemplification, any data set being transmitted to the analytics systems 9100 includes a unique ID for the surgical hub 9000 and the current version of its control program or operating system. In one exemplification, any data set being sent to the analytics systems 9100 includes a unique ID for the modular device 9050 and the current version of its control program or operating system. The unique ID of the surgical hub 9000 and/or modular device 9050 being associated with the uploaded data allows the analytics system 9100 to determine whether the data corresponds to the most recent version of the control program. The analytics system 9100 could, for example, elect to discount (or ignore) data generated by a modular device 9050 or surgical hub 9000 being controlled by an out of date control program and/or cause the updated version of the control program to be pushed to the modular device 9050 or surgical hub 9000.

In one exemplification, the operating versions of all modular devices 9050 the surgical hub 9000 has updated control software for could also be included in a surgical hub 9000 status data block that is transmitted to the analytics system 9100 on a periodic basis. If the analytics system 9100 identifies that the operating versions of the control programs of the surgical hub 9100 and/or any of the connectable modular devices 9050 are out of date, the analytics system 9100 could push the most recent revision of the relevant control program to the surgical hub 9000.

In one exemplification, the surgical hub 9000 and/or modular devices 9050 can be configured to automatically download any software updates. In another exemplification, the surgical hub 9000 and/or modular devices 9050 can be configured to provide a prompt for the user to ask at the next setup step (e.g., between surgical procedures) if the user wants to update the out of date control program(s). In another exemplification, the surgical hub 9000 could be programmable by the user to never allow updates or only allow updates of the modular devices 9050 and not the surgical hub 9000 itself.

Adaptive Control Program Updates For Surgical Hubs

As with the modular devices 9050 described above, the surgical hubs 9000 can likewise include control programs that control the various operations of the surgical hub 9000 during the course of a surgical procedure. If the surgical hubs' 9000 control programs do not adapt over time in response to collected data, then the surgical hubs 9000 may continue to repeat errors, not provide warnings or recommendations to the surgical staff based on learned information, and not adjust to the surgical staff's preferences. One solution includes transmitting operational data from the surgical hubs 9000 that indicates how the surgical hubs 9000 are being utilized or controlled during the course of a surgical procedure to an analytics system 9100. The analytics system 9100 can then analyze the data aggregated from the network of surgical hubs 9000 connected to the analytics system 9100 to determine if a particular manner of operating the surgical hubs 9000 corresponds to improved patient outcomes or is otherwise preferred across the population of the surgical hubs 9000. In one exemplification, if a particular manner in which the surgical hubs 9000 are operated satisfies a defined condition or set of conditions, then the analytics system 9100 can determine that this particular manner should be implemented across the network of surgical hubs 9000. The analytics system 9100 can generate an update to the surgical hubs' 9000 control program to fix or improve the control program and then push the update to the surgical hubs 9000 so that the improvement is shared across every surgical hub 9000 that is connected to the analytics system 9100. For example, if a threshold number of the surgical hubs 9000 are controlled in a particular manner and/or if a particular manner of controlling the surgical hubs 9000 correlates to an improvement in the surgical procedure outcomes that exceeds a threshold level, then the analytics system 9100 can generate a control program update that controls the surgical hubs 9000 in a manner corresponding to the preferred or improved manner of control. The control program update can then be pushed to the surgical hubs 9000.

In one exemplification, an analytics system 9100 is configured to generate and push control program updates to surgical hubs 9000 in the field based on perioperative data relating to the manner in which the surgical hubs 9000 are controlled or utilized. In other words, the surgical hubs 9000 can be updated with improved decision-making abilities according to data generated from the hub network. In one aspect, external and perioperative data is collected by an analytics system. The data is then analyzed to generate a control update to improve the performance of the surgical hubs 9000. The analytics system 9100 can analyze the data aggregated from the surgical hubs 9000 to determine the preferred manner for the surgical hubs 9000 to operate, under what conditions the surgical hubs' 9000 control programs are controlling the surgical hubs 9000 suboptimally (i.e., if there are repeated faults or errors in the control program or if an alternative algorithm performs in a superior manner), or under what conditions medical personnel are utilizing the surgical hubs 9000 suboptimally. The analytics system 9100 can then push the update to the surgical hubs 9000 connected thereto.

FIG. 36 illustrates a diagram of a computer-implemented adaptive surgical system 9060 that is configured to adaptively generate control program updates for surgical hubs 9000, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. The surgical system 9060 includes several surgical hubs 9000 that are communicably coupled to the analytics system 9100. Subpopulations of surgical hubs 9000 (each of which can include individual surgical hubs 9000 or groups of surgical hubs 9000) within the overall population connected to the analytics system 9100 can exhibit different operational behaviors during the course of a surgical procedure. The differences in operational behavior between groups of surgical hubs 9000 within the population can result from the surgical hubs 9000 running different versions of their control program, by the surgical hubs' 9000 control programs being customized or programmed differently by local surgical staff, or by the local surgical staff manually controlling the surgical hubs 9000 differently. In the depicted example, the population of surgical hubs 9000 includes a first subpopulation 9312 that is exhibiting a first operational behavior and a second subpopulation 9314 that is exhibiting a second operational behavior for a particular task. Although the surgical hubs 9000 are divided into a pair of subpopulations 9312, 9314 in this particular example, there is no practical limit to the number of different behaviors exhibited within the population of surgical hubs 9000. The tasks that the surgical hubs 9000 can be executing include, for example, controlling a surgical instrument or analyzing a dataset in a particular manner.

The surgical hubs 9000 can be configured to transmit perioperative data pertaining to the operational behavior of the surgical hubs 9000 to the analytics system 9100. The perioperative data can include preoperative data, intraoperative data, and postoperative data. The preoperative data can include, for example, patient-specific information, such as demographics, health history, preexisting conditions, preoperative workup, medication history (i.e., medications currently and previously taken), genetic data (e.g., SNPs or gene expression data), EMR data, advanced imaging data (e.g., MRI, CT, or PET), metabolomics, and microbiome. Various additional types of patient-specific information that can be utilized by the analytics system 9100 are described by U.S. Pat. No. 9,250,172, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/631,095, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/828,809, and U.S. Pat. No. 8,476,227, each of which is incorporated by reference herein to the extent that they describe patient-specific information. The preoperative data can also include, for example, operating theater-specific information, such as geographic information, hospital location, operating theater location, operative staff performing the surgical procedure, the responsible surgeon, the number and type of modular devices 9050 and/or other surgical equipment that could potentially be used in the particular surgical procedure, the number and type of modular devices 9050 and/or other surgical equipment that are anticipated to be used in the particular surgical procedure, patient identification information, and the type of procedure being performed.

The intraoperative data can include, for example, modular device 9050 utilization (e.g., the number of firings by a surgical stapling instrument, the number of firings by an RF electrosurgical instrument or an ultrasonic instrument, or the number and types of stapler cartridges utilized), operating parameter data of the modular devices 9050 (e.g., the FTF curve for a surgical stapling instrument, a FTC curve for a surgical stapling instrument, the energy output of a generator, the internal pressure or pressure differential of a smoke evacuator), unexpected modular device 9050 utilization (i.e., the detection of the utilization of a modular device that is nonstandard for the procedure type), adjunctive therapies administered to the patient, and utilization of equipment other than the modular devices 9050 (e.g., sealants to address leaks). The intraoperative data can also include, for example, detectable misuse of a modular device 9050 and detectable off-label use of a modular device 9050.

The postoperative data can include, for example, a flag if the patient does not leave the operating theater and/or is sent for nonstandard postoperative care (e.g., a patient undergoing a routine bariatric procedure is sent to the ICU after the procedure), a postoperative patient evaluation relating to the surgical procedure (e.g., data relating to a spirometric performance after a thoracic surgery or data relating to a staple line leakage after bowel or bariatric procedures), data related to postoperative complications (e.g., transfusions or air leaks), or the patient's length of stay in the medical facility after the procedure. Because hospitals are increasingly being graded on readmission rates, complication rates, average length of stay, and other such surgical quality metrics, the postoperative data sources can be monitored by the analytics system 9100 either alone or in combination with surgical procedural outcome data (discussed below) to assess and institute updates to the controls programs of the surgical hubs 9000 and/or modular devices 9050.

In some exemplifications, the intraoperative and/or postoperative data can further include data pertaining to the outcome of each surgical procedure or a step of the surgical procedure. The surgical procedural outcome data can include whether a particular procedure or a particular step of a procedure had a positive or negative outcome. In some exemplifications, the surgical procedural outcome data can include procedure step and/or time stamped images of modular device 9050 performance, a flag indicating whether a modular device 9050 functioned properly, notes from the medical facility staff, or a flag for poor, suboptimal, or unacceptable modular device 9050 performance. The surgical procedural outcome data can, for example, be directly detected by the modular devices 9050 and/or surgical hub 9000 (e.g., a medical imaging device can visualize or detect bleeding), determined or inferred by a situational awareness system of the surgical hub 9000 as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/940,654, or retrieved from a database 9054 (e.g., an EMR database) by the surgical hub 9000 or the analytics system 9100. In some exemplifications, perioperative data including a flag indicating that a modular device 9050 failed or otherwise performed poorly during the course of a surgical procedure can be prioritized for communication to and/or analysis by the analytics system 9100.

In one exemplification, the perioperative data can be assembled on a procedure-by-procedure basis and uploaded by the surgical hubs 9000 to the analytics system 9100 for analysis thereby. The perioperative data indicates the manner in which the surgical hubs 9000 were programmed to operate or were manually controlled in association with a surgical procedure (i.e., the operational behavior of the surgical hubs 9000) because it indicates what actions the surgical hub 9000 took in response to various detected conditions, how the surgical hubs 9000 controlled the modular devices 9050, and what inferences the situationally aware surgical hubs 9000 derived from the received data. The analytics system 9100 can be configured to analyze the various types and combinations of preoperative, intraoperative, and post-operative data to determine whether a control program update should be generated and then push the update to the overall population or one or more subpopulations of surgical hubs 9000, as necessary.

FIG. 37 illustrates a logic flow diagram of a process 9300 for updating the control program of a surgical hub 9000, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. During the following description of the process 9300, reference should also be made to FIGS. 32 and 36. The process 9200 can be executed by, for example, one or more processors of the analytics servers 9070 of the analytics system 9100. In one exemplification, the analytics system 9100 can be a cloud computing system. For economy, the following description of the process 9300 will be described as being executed by the analytics system 9100; however, it should be understood that the analytics system 9100 includes processor(s) and/or control circuit(s) that are executing the describe steps of the process 9300.

The analytics system 9100 executing the process 9300 receives 9302 perioperative data from the surgical hubs 9000 that are communicably connected to the analytics system 9100. The perioperative data indicates the manner in which the surgical hubs 9000 are programmed to operate by their control programs or are controlled by the surgical staff during a surgical procedure. In some aspects, the perioperative data can include or being transmitted to the analytics system 9100 in association with surgical procedural outcome data. The surgical procedural outcome data can include data pertaining to an overall outcome of a surgical procedure (e.g., whether there was a complication during the surgical procedure) or data pertaining to a specific step within a surgical procedure (e.g., whether a particular staple line bled or leaked).

After an analytics system 9100 executing the process 9300 has received 9302 the perioperative data, the analytics system 9100 then analyzes 9304 the data to determine whether an update condition has been satisfied. In one exemplification, the update condition includes whether a threshold number or percentage of surgical hubs 9000 within the population exhibit a particular operational behavior. For example, the analytics system 9100 can determine that a control program update should be generated to automatically active an energy generator at a particular step in a type of surgical procedure when a majority of the surgical hubs 9000 are utilized to active the energy generator at that procedural step. In another exemplification, the update condition includes whether the rate of positive procedural outcomes (or lack of negative procedural outcomes) correlated to a particular operational behavior exceeds a threshold value (e.g., an average rate of positive procedural outcomes for a procedure step). For example, the analytics system 9100 can determine that a control program update should be generated to recommend that the energy generator be set at a particular energy level when the associated rate of hemostasis (i.e., lack of bleeding) at that energy level for the particular tissue type exceeds a threshold rate. In another exemplification, the update condition includes whether the rate of positive procedural outcomes (or lack of negative procedural outcomes) for a particular operational behavior is higher than the rate of positive procedural outcomes (or a lack of negative procedural outcomes) for related operational behaviors. In other words, if one subpopulation of surgical hubs 9000 exhibits a first operational behavior under a certain set of conditions and a second subpopulation of surgical hubs 9000 exhibits a second operational behavior under the same set of conditions, then the analytics system 9100 can determine whether to update the control programs of the surgical hubs 9000 according to whether the first or second operational behavior is more highly correlated to a positive procedural outcome. In another exemplification, the analytics system 9100 analyzes 9304 the data to determine whether multiple update conditions have been satisfied.

If an update condition has not been satisfied, the process 9300 continues along the NO branch and the analytics system 9100 continues receiving 9302 and analyzing 9304 perioperative data from the surgical hubs 9000 to monitor for the occurrence of an update condition. If an update condition has been satisfied, the process 9300 continues along the YES branch and the analytics system 9100 proceeds to generate 9308 a control program update. The nature of the generated 9308 control program update corresponds to the particular operational behavior of the surgical hub 9000 that is identified by the analytics system 9100 as triggering the update condition. In other words, the control program update adds, removes, or otherwise alters functions performed by the surgical hub 9000 so that the surgical hub 9000 operates differently under the conditions that gave rise to the identified operational behavior. Furthermore, the type of control program update also depends upon whether the identified operational behavior results from manual control or control by the control program of the surgical hub 9000. If the identified operational behavior results from manual control, the control program update can be configured to provide warnings, recommendations, or feedback to the users based upon the manner in which they are operating the surgical hub 9000. For example, if the analytics system 9100 determines that taking a particular action or utilizing a particular instrument for a step in a surgical procedure improves outcomes, then the analytics system 9100 can generate 9308 a control program update that provides a prompt or warning to the surgical staff when the surgical hub 9000 determines that the designated step of the surgical procedure is occurring or will subsequently occur. Alternatively, the control program update can change one or more functions of the surgical hub 9000 from being manually controllable to being controlled by the control program of the surgical hub 9000. For example, if the analytics system 9100 determines that a display of the visualization system 108 (FIG. 2) is set to a particular view by the surgical staff in a predominant number of surgical procedures at a particular step, the analytics system 9100 can generate a control program update that causes the surgical hub 9000 to automatically change the display to that view under those conditions. If the identified operational behavior results from the control program of the surgical hub 9000, then the control program update can alter how the control program functions under the set of circumstances that cause the identified operational behavior. For example, if the analytics system 9100 determines that a particular energy level for an RF electrosurgical or ultrasonic instrument correlates to poor or negative outcomes under a certain set of conditions, then the analytics system 9100 can generate 9308 a control program update that causes the surgical hub 9000 to adjust the energy level of the connected instrument to a different value when the set of conditions is detected (e.g., when the surgical hub 9000 determines that an arthroscopic procedure is being performed).

The analytics system 9100 then transmits 9310 the control program update to the overall population of surgical hubs 9000 or the subpopulation(s) of surgical hubs 9000 that are performing the operational behavior that is identified by the analytics system 9100 as triggering the update condition. In one exemplification, the surgical hubs 9000 are configured to download the control program updates from the analytics system 9100 each time an update is generated 9308 thereby. In one exemplification, the analytics system 9100 can thereafter continue the process 9300 of analyzing 9304 the data received 9302 from the surgical hubs 9000, as described above.

FIG. 38 illustrates a representative implementation of the process 9300 depicted in FIG. 37. FIG. 38 illustrates a logic flow diagram of a process 9400 for updating the data analysis algorithm of a control program of a surgical hub 9000, in accordance with at least one aspect of the present disclosure. As with the process 9300 depicted in FIG. 37, the process 9400 illustrated in FIG. 38 can, in one exemplification, be executed by the analytics system 9100. In the following description of the process 9400, reference should also be made to FIG. 36. In one exemplification of the adaptive surgical system 9060 depicted in FIG. 36, the first surgical hub subpopulation 9312 is utilizing a first data analysis algorithm and the second surgical hub subpopulation 9314 is utilizing a second data analysis algorithm. For example, the first surgical hub subpopulation 9312 can be utilizing a normal continuous probability distribution to analyze a particular dataset, whereas the second surgical hub subpopulation 9314 can be utilizing a bimodal distribution for analyzing the particular dataset. In this exemplification, the analytics system 9100 receives 9402, 9404 the perioperative data from the first and second surgical hub subpopulations 9312, 9314 corresponding to the respective data analysis algorithms. The analytics system 9100 then analyzes 9406 the perioperative datasets to determine whether one of the perioperative datasets satisfies one or more update conditions. The update conditions can include, for example, a particular analysis method being utilized by a threshold percentage (e.g., 75%) of the surgical hubs 9000 in the overall population and a particular analysis method being correlated to positive surgical procedural outcomes in a threshold percentage (e.g., 50%) of cases.

In this exemplification, the analytics system 9100 determines 9408 whether one of the data analysis algorithms utilized by the first and second surgical hub subpopulations 9312, 9314 satisfies both of the update conditions. If the update conditions are not satisfied, then the process 9400 proceeds along the NO branch and the analytics system 9100 continues receiving 9402, 9404 and analyzing 9406 perioperative data from the first and second surgical hub subpopulations 9312, 9314. If the update conditions are satisfied, the process 9400 proceeds along the YES branch and the analytics system 9100 generates 9412 a control program update according to which of the data analysis algorithms the analysis 9406 determined satisfied the update conditions. In this exemplification, the control program update would include causing the surgical hub 9000 to utilize the data analysis algorithm that satisfied the update conditions when performing the corresponding analysis type. The analytics system 9100 then transmits 9414 the generated 9412 control program update to the population of surgical hubs 9000. In one exemplification, the control program update is transmitted 9414 to the entire population of surgical hubs 9000. In another exemplification, the control program update is transmitted 9414 to the subpopulation of surgical hubs 9000 that did not utilize the data analysis algorithm that satisfied the update conditions. In other words, if the analytics system 9100 analyzes 9406 the perioperative data and determines 9408 that the second (bimodal) data analysis method satisfies the update conditions, then the generated 9412 control program update is transmitted 9414 to the first subpopulation of surgical hubs 9000 in this exemplification. Furthermore, the control program update can either force the updated surgical hubs 9000 to utilize the second (bimodal) data analysis algorithm when analyzing the particular dataset or cause the updated surgical hubs 9000 to provide a warning or recommend to the user that the second (bimodal) data analysis algorithm be used under the given conditions (allowing the user to choose whether to follow the recommendation).

This technique improves the performance of the surgical hubs 9000 by updating their control programs generated from data aggregated across the entire network of surgical hubs 9000. In effect, each surgical hub 9000 can be adjusted according to shared or learned knowledge across the surgical hub 9000 network. This technique also allows the analytics system 9100 to determine when unexpected devices (e.g., modular devices 9050) are utilized during the course of a surgical procedure by providing the analytics system 9100 with knowledge of the devices being utilized in each type of surgical procedure across the entire surgical hub 9000 network.

Security and Authentication Trends and Reactive Measures

In a cloud-based medical system communicatively coupled to multiple communication and data gathering centers located in different geographical areas, security risks are ever present. The cloud-based medical system may aggregate data from the multiple communication and data gathering centers, where the data collected by any data gathering center may originate from one or more medical devices communicatively coupled to the data gathering center. It may be possible to connect an unauthorized medical device to the data gathering center, such as a pirated device, a knock-off or counterfeit device, or a stolen device. These devices may contain viruses, may possess faulty calibration, lack the latest updated settings, or otherwise fail to pass safety inspections that can be harmful to a patient if used during surgery. Furthermore, the multiple data gathering centers may contain multiple points of entry, such as multiple USB or other input ports, or opportunities to enter user passwords, that if improperly accessed could represent security breaches that can reach the cloud-based medical system, other data gathering centers, and connected medical devices. The risk of devices being tampered with, or data being stolen or manipulated, can lead to severe consequences, particularly because the entire system is purposed for improving medical care.

A security system that reaches all facets of the cloud-based medical system may not be effective unless there is a centralized component that is configured to be made aware of all communication and data gathering centers, and all devices connected therein. If the security systems were merely localized to each data gathering center or at each point of entry, information from one point of entry may not be properly disseminated to other security points. Thus, if a breach occurs at one point, or if improper devices are used at one point, that information may not be properly disseminated to the other centers or devices. Therefore, a centralized security system, or at least a system configured to communicate with all medical hubs that control access points, would be preferable to be made aware of all of the different issues that may occur and to communicate those issues to other ports as needed.

In some aspects, the cloud-based medical system includes a security and authentication system that is configured to monitor all communication and data gathering centers, such as a medical hub or tower located in an operating room, as well as any smart medical instruments communicatively coupled to those centers. The cloud-based security and authentication system, as part of the cloud-based medical system, may be configured to detect unauthorized or irregular access to any hub system or other protected data sets contained within the cloud. Because of the centralized nature of the cloud-based security system—in the sense that the cloud system is configured to communicate with every hub in the system—if there is any identified irregularity found at one hub, the security system is operable to improve security at all other hubs by communicating this information to the other hubs. For example, if surgical instruments with unauthorized serial numbers are used at a hub in one hospital, the cloud-based security system may learn of this at the local hub located in that hospital, and then communicate that information to all other hubs in the same hospital, as well as all hospitals in the surrounding region.

In some aspects, the cloud-based medical system may be configured to monitor surgical devices and approve or deny access for each surgical device for use with a surgical hub. Each surgical device may be registered with a hub, by performing an authentication protocol exchange with the hub. The cloud-based medical system may possess knowledge of all surgical devices and a status indicating whether the surgical device is acceptable, such as whether the device has been pirated, lacks a proper serial number, was faulty, possesses a virus, as so on. The cloud-based medical system may then be configured to prevent interaction with the surgical device, even if the surgical device is connected to the hub.

In this way, the cloud-based security system can provide the most comprehensive security for any particular hub or medical facility due to its ability to see problems located elsewhere.

FIG. 39 provides an illustration of example functionality by a cloud medical analytics system 10000 for providing improved security and authentication to multiple medical facilities that are interconnected, according to some aspects. Starting at block A reference 10002, suspicious activity may be registered from one facility or region as a starting point. The suspicious activity may come in various forms. For example, a surgical device may be recorded at a hub as having a duplicate serial number, or a number that is not known to be within an acceptable range, or that the serial number may already be registered at a different location. In some aspects, surgical devices may possess additional authentication mechanisms, such as a type of electronic or digital handshake exchange between the surgical device and the surgical hub when they are connected. Each device may be programmed with a digital signature and/or knowledge of how to perform an authentication process. The firmware of the surgical device may need to be properly programmed to know how to perform during this exchange. The authentication handshake may periodically change, and may be specified by the cloud on a periodic basis. Any of these may fail during interconnection of the device with a medical hub, triggering an alert with the medical hub and the cloud system 10000.

In some aspects, the cloud system 10000 may review the information supplied by the medical device that triggered the suspicious activity, and if the information is unequivocally fraudulent or faulty, an alert and a rejection of the device can occur, such that the medical device will be prevented from operating with the medical hub and/or other medical hubs in the same facility. While the cloud system 10000 may be configured to prevent singularities, the cloud system 10000 may also be capable of utilizing its vast array of knowledge to develop additional security measures that a single hub as an entry port would be unable to perform on its own. An example is described further below.

At block B reference 10004, the activity at the local medical hub may be transmitted to the cloud for authentication by at least comparing the surgical device to all known devices within the cloud network. In this scenario, the surgical device may register as being suspicious or having some suspicious activity or property. The cloud may be configured to then undergo a feedback loop of exchange with the local hub or facility from which the suspicious device originated. The cloud may determine to request additional data from that facility. In addition, the medical facility, via one or more surgical hubs, may request authentication or interrogation data about one or more surgical devices from the cloud. In this example, a medical hub in a facility in Texas requests a communication exchange with the cloud system 10000 for more data to determine if the suspicious activity at one of its local hubs is truly problematic.

At block C reference 10006, the cloud authentication and security system may then be configured to perform additional data analysis to determine the veracity of any threat and larger context of the nature of this suspicious activity. In this example, the cloud-based security system has performed analysis and brings to light at least two pieces of evidence of a security threat, which is expressed visually in the chart of block C. First, upon comparing the number of data requests and medical interrogations across multiple medical facilities, it is determined that the current requesting facility in Texas has an inordinate number of data requests or medical interrogations compared to all other facilities. The cloud may be configured to flag this as one security issue that needs to be addressed. Second, in comparison to the number of data requests, the number of suspicious data points or findings is also inordinately high at the Texas facility. One or both of these realizations may prompt the cloud security system to enact different security changes at the Texas facility in particular.

Thus, at block D reference 10008, in response to the identified anomalous behavior of the facilities in Texas as a whole, the cloud security system may request additional data related to Texas to better understand the nature of the practices and potential threats. For example, additional data regarding purchasing practices, vendors, the type of surgical instruments being used, the type of surgical procedures performed in comparison to other facilities, and so forth, may be obtained from one or more surgical hubs at the Texas facility, or may be accessed in data already stored in the cloud system 10000. The cloud security system may be configured to look for additional anomalies and patterns that may help determine how to change security procedures specific to the Texas facility, or the facilities in the Texas region generally.

At block E reference 10010, once the additional information has been gathered and analyzed, the cloud security system may initiate a changed security protocol for the Texas facility in particular that triggered this analysis from block A, as well as any new security procedures for any surgical devices that indicate a unique or above average threat. For example, it may be determined that a particular type of surgical devices, such as devices originating from a particular manufacturing facility or having a particular set of unique identification numbers, may be faulty, pirated, or have some other kind of security risk. The cloud system 10000 may have analyzed the suspicious data points originating from the Texas region, determined if there were any commonalities or patterns, and issued a change in security protocol based on these identified patterns. These devices may then be locked out from use at all surgical hubs, even if they are not connected to any surgical hub at the present time. Other example changes regarding security include modifying the types of data gathered to learn more about the types of threats or how widespread the threats are. For example, the suspicious activity in Texas may exhibit a certain pattern or authentication signature of attempting to login in with the system, and so this pattern may be placed on an alert to other facilities in Texas and/or to other facilities to pay special attention to. In some cases, the pattern of suspicious activity may be correlated with another indicator, such as a brand or manufacturer, or a series of serial numbers. The cloud system may send out alerts to those facilities known to associate with these correlated indicators, such as all facilities that utilize medical devices with the same manufacturer.

In addition, an augmented authentication procedure may be enacted at the localized Texas region. The cloud-security system may opt to perform additional authentication protocols for all devices originating out of the Texas facility, for example. These additional protocols may not be present or required at other facilities, since there is considered a lower level of security risk based on the lack of suspicious activity.

In some aspects, as alluded to previously, the cloud-based security system may also be configured to protect against unwanted intrusions, either to any hub or to the cloud system itself. This means that the suspect medical device may be unable to access any data from any medical hub, and may also be prevented from operating if it is connected to a medical hub. In a medical system utilizing the cloud system and multiple medical hubs, the common protocol may require that only medical devices connected to a medical hub are authorized to operate on a patient, and therefore the medical hub will have the capability of preventing a device from activating. The limitation of any faulty or fraudulent surgical device may be designed to protect a patient during a surgical procedure, and it can also be used to protect any surgical hub and the cloud itself. The same lockout procedure may be designed to stop both scenarios from occurring.

In some aspects, the surgical hub may be configured to transmit data to the cloud security system that better characterizes the nature of the security flaws or intrusions. For example, the cloud security system may be configured to store in memory the number of intrusion attempts, the source of the intrusion attempt (e.g., from which surgical hub or even what port or connection via the surgical hub), and what method for attempted intrusion there is, if any (e.g., virus attack, authentication spoofing, etc.).

In some aspects, the cloud security system may also determine what types of behaviors by a surgical device or other functions by a surgical hub are irregular, compared to a global average or just by each institution. The cloud security system may better identify what practices seem irregular in this way. The data logs of any surgical hub, or across an entire facility, may be recorded and securely stored in the cloud system. The cloud security system may then analyze the attempted access requests and actions to determine trends, similarities and differences across regions or institutions. The cloud security system may then report any irregularities to the institution and flag any identified irregularities for internal investigation into updates to protect against future breaches. Of note, a local hub or local facility with multiple hubs may not realize if any of their authentication behaviors are irregular, unless they are compared to a broader average or comparison of other facilities. The cloud system may be configured to identify these patterns, because it has access to authentication data and procedures from these multiple facilities.

In some aspects, the cloud security system may be configured to analyze any current hub control program versions and when it was updated. The cloud security system may verify all updates are correct, and determine where their origins are. This may be an additional check to ensure that the software and firmware systems of the surgical devices are proper and have not been tampered with.

In some aspects, the cloud security system may also determine larger threats by analyzing multiple facilities at once. The system may determine, after aggregating data from multiple locations, any trends or patterns of suspicious activity across a wider region. The security system may then change security parameters across multiple facilities immediately or in near real time. This may be useful to quickly react to simultaneous attacks, and may make it even easier to solve simultaneous attacks by gathering data from the multiple attacks at once to better increase the chances and speed of finding a pattern to the attacks. Having the cloud system helps confirm whether attacks or suspicious activity occurs in isolation or is part of a grander scheme.

Data Handling and Prioritization

Aspects of the present disclosure are presented for a cloud computing system (computer-implemented interactive surgical system as described above) for providing data handling, sorting, and prioritization, which may be applied to critical data generated during various medical operations. The cloud computing system constitutes a cloud-based analytics system, communicatively coupled to a plurality of surgical hubs 7006 and smart medical instruments such as surgical instruments 7012. Typically, a healthcare facility, such as a hospital or medical clinic, does not necessarily immediately recognize the criticality of data as it is generated. For example, if a medical instrument used during a perioperative period experiences a failure, the response of medical care facility personnel such as nurses and doctors may be directed towards diagnosis of any medical complications, emergency medical assistance, and patient safety generally. In this situation, the criticality of the data might not be analyzed in a time sensitive manner, or at all. Accordingly, the healthcare facility does not necessarily timely respond to or even recognize critical data as such data is generated. Additionally, a particular healthcare facility can lack knowledge of the management of critical data from other similarly situated facilities, either in its region, according to a similar size, and/or according to similar practices or patients, and the like. The cloud-based analytics system may be specifically designed to address this issue of critical data and particularly the timing of data handling that is performed based on the criticality of data within the context of healthcare facility operations. The cloud-based analytics system may quickly and efficiently identify critical data based on specific criteria. In some situations, aggregate data is determined to be critical after the individual non-critical data comprising the aggregated data are aggregated. As used herein, handling critical data (which could be aggregated) may refer to data sorting, prioritizing, and other data handling based on specific criteria or thresholds.

To help facilitate timely and improved data sorting, handling, and prioritization, it would be desirable if a common source connected to multiple healthcare facilities could sort, handle, and prioritize critical data from these medical facilities in a holistic manner. In this way, insights could be generated by the common source based on using this aggregated data from the multiple healthcare facilities. In various aspects, the cloud-based analytics system comprises the cloud 7004 that is communicatively coupled to knowledge centers in a medical facility, such as one or more surgical hubs 7006, and is configured to sort, handle, and prioritize medical data from multiple healthcare facilities. In particular, the cloud-based system can identify critical data and respond to such critical data based on the extent of the associated criticality. For example, the cloud-based system could prioritize a response as requiring urgent action based on the critical data indicating a serious perioperative surgical instrument 7012 failure, such as one that requires intensive care unit (ICU) postoperative treatment. The data handling, sorting, and prioritization described herein may be performed by the processors 7008 of the central servers 7013 of the cloud 7004 by, for example, executing one or more data analytics modules 7034.

Critical data can be determined to be critical based on factors such as severity, unexpectedness, suspiciousness, or security. Other criticality criteria can also be specifically selected such as by a healthcare facility. Criticality can also be indicated by flagging a surgical instrument 7012, which in turn can be based on predetermined screening criteria, which could be the same or different as the factors described above. For example, a surgical instrument 7012 can be flagged based on its usage being correlated with severe post surgical operation complications. Flagging could also be used to trigger the prioritized data handling of the cloud-based analytics system. In connection with a determination of criticality or flagging a surgical instrument 7012, the cloud 7004 can transmit a push message or request to one or more surgical hubs 7006 for additional data associated with the use of the surgical instrument 7012. The additional data could be used for aggregating data associated with the surgical instrument 7012. For example, after receiving the additional data, the cloud 7004 may determine there is a flaw in the surgical instrument 7012 (e.g., malfunctioning generator in an energy surgical instrument) that is common to other corresponding surgical instruments 7012 in a particular healthcare facility. Accordingly, the cloud 7004 could determine that all such flawed surgical instruments 7012 should be recalled. These flawed surgical instruments 7012 might share a common identification number or quality or a common aspect of a unique identifier, such as a serial number family identifier.

In general, the cloud-based analytics system may be capable of aggregating, sorting, handling, and prioritizing data in a timely and systematic manner that a single healthcare facility would not be able to accomplish on its own. The cloud-based analytics system further can enable timely response to the aggregated, sorted, and prioritized data by obviating the need for multiple facilities to coordinate analysis of the particular medical data generated during medical operations at each particular facility. In this way, the cloud-based system can aggregate data to determine critical data or flagging for enabling appropriate responses across the entire network of surgical hubs 7006 and instruments 7012. Specifically, appropriate responses include sorting, handling, and prioritization by the cloud 7004 according to a priority status of the critical data, which can enable timely and consistent responses to aggregated critical data (or critical aggregated data) across the entire network. Criticality of the data may be defined universally and consistently across all surgical hub 7006 and instruments 7012. Furthermore, the cloud-based analytics system may be able to verify the authenticity of data from the plurality of medical facilities before such data is assigned a priority status or stored in the aggregated medical data databases. As with the categorization of critical data, data verification can also be implemented in a universal and consistent manner across the system which a single facility may not be able to achieve individually.

FIG. 40 is a flow diagram of the computer-implemented interactive surgical system programmed to use screening criteria to determine critical data and to push requests to a surgical hub to obtain additional data, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. In one aspect, once a surgical hub 7006 receives device data 11002 from a surgical instrument 7012 data may be flagged and/or determined to be critical based on predetermined screening criteria. As shown in FIG. 40, the hub 7006 applies 11004 the screening criteria to flag devices and to identify critical data. The screening criteria include severity, unexpectedness, suspiciousness, and security. Severity can refer to the severity of any adverse medical consequences resulting from an operation performed using the surgical instrument 7012. Severity could be assessed using a severity threshold for surgical instrument 7012 failures. For example, the severity threshold could be a temporal or loss rate threshold of bleeding such as over 1.0 milliliters per minute (mL/min). Other suitable severity thresholds could be used. Unexpectedness can refer to a medical parameter of a deviation that exceeds a threshold such as an amount of standard deviation from the mean medical parameter value such as a determined tissue compression parameter significantly exceeding the expected mean value at a time during an operation.

Suspiciousness can refer to data that appears to have been improperly manipulated or tampered with. For example, the total therapeutic energy applied to tissue value indicated by the data may be impossible given a total amount energy applied via the generator of the surgical instrument 7012. In this situation, the impossibility of the data suggests improper manipulation or tampering. Similarly, security can refer to improperly secured data, such as data including a force to close parameter that was inadvertently deleted. The screening criteria also may be specified by a particular surgical hub 7006 or by the cloud 7004. The screening criteria can also incorporate specific thresholds, which can be used for prioritization, for example. In one example, multiple severity thresholds can be implemented such that the extent of perioperative surgical instrument 7012 failures can be sorted into multiple categories according to the multiple severity thresholds. In particular, the multiple severity thresholds could be based on the number of misaligned staples from a stapling surgical instrument 7012 to reflect an extent of the severity of misalignment. By using the cloud-based analytic system, the cloud may systemically identify critical data and flag surgical instruments 7012 for providing a timely and appropriate response which an individual healthcare facility could not achieve on its own. This timely response by the cloud 7004 can be especially advantageous for severe post surgical operation complications.

Determining critical data and flagging the surgical instrument 7012 by the hub 7006 may include determining a location to store data. Data may be routed or stored based on whether the data is critical and whether the corresponding surgical instrument 7012 is flagged. For example, binary criteria can be used to sort data into two storage locations, namely, a memory of a surgical hub 7006 or the memory 7010 of the cloud 7004. Surgical instruments 7012 generate this medical data and transmit such data, which is denoted as device data 11002 in FIG. 40, to their corresponding surgical hub devices 7006. FIG. 40 illustrates an example of this binary sorting process. Specifically, in one aspect, the data routing can be determined based on severity screening criteria as shown at the severity decision steps 11006, 11008. At step 11006, the hub 7006 determines 11006 whether the surgical instrument 7012 that provided the device data 11002 has experienced a failure or malfunction during operation at the perioperative stage and whether this failure is considered severe. The severity thresholds discussed above or other suitable means could be used to determine whether the failure is severe. For example, severe failure may be determined based on whether undesirable patient bleeding occurred during use or firing of the surgical instrument. If the determination at step 11006 is yes, the corresponding data (i.e., critical data) of the surgical instrument 7012 is transmitted 11012 by the hub 7006 to the cloud 7004. Conversely, if the determination at step 11006 is no, the flow diagram may proceed to step 11008.

If the determination at step 11006 is no, then the flow diagram proceeds to step 11008 in FIG. 40, where the surgical hub 7006 determines whether the patient transitioned to non-standard post-operation care (i.e. the ICU) after the operation was performed with the specific surgical instrument 7012. However, even if the determination at step 11006 is no, the inquiry at step 11008 may still be performed. If the determination at step 11008 is yes, then the critical device data 11002 is transmitted to the cloud 7004. For example, the determination at step 11008 is yes if a patient transitioned into the ICU from the operating room subsequent to a routine bariatric surgical procedure. Upon transfer of a patient into the ICU, the surgical hub 7006 may receive a timely signal from the surgical instrument 7012 used to perform the bariatric procedure indicating that the patient has experienced complications necessitating entry into the ICU. Since this signal indicates the step 11008 determination is yes, corresponding device data 11002 is sent 11012 to the cloud 7004. Additionally, the specific surgical instrument 7012 may be flagged by the cloud 7004 for a prompt specific response by the cloud 7004, such as designating the surgical instrument 7012 with a prioritization of requiring urgent action. If the determination at step 11008 is no, a signal can be transmitted from the surgical instrument 7012 to the surgical hub 7006 indicating that the procedure was successful. In this scenario, the device data 11002 can be stored 11010 locally in a memory device of the surgical hub 7006.

Additionally or alternatively, the specific surgical instrument 7012 may also be flagged by the hub 7006 or the cloud 7004 to trigger data handling by the cloud 7004, which can comprise an internal response of the cloud 7004. When the surgical instrument 7012 is flagged or the device data 11002 is determined to be critical, the triggered response may be the cloud 7004 transmitting a signal comprising a request for additional data regarding the surgical instrument 7012. Additional data may pertain to the critical device data 11002. The cloud 7004 can also request additional data even if the specific surgical instrument 7012 is not flagged, such as if the device data 11002 is determined to be critical without the surgical instrument 7012 being flagged. Flagging could also indicate an alarm or alert associated with the surgical instrument 7012. In general, the hub 7006 is configured to execute determination logic for determining whether the device data 11002 should be sent to the cloud 7004. The determination logic can be considered screening criteria for determining criticality or flagging surgical instruments 7012. Besides the severity thresholds used at steps decision steps 11006, 11008, the data routing can be based on frequency thresholds (e.g., the use of a surgical instrument 7012 exceeds a usage quantity threshold such as a number of times an energy generator is used), data size thresholds, or other suitable thresholds such as the other screening criteria discussed above. Flagging may also result in storing a unique identifier of the specific surgical instrument in a database of the cloud-based system.

A triggered request 11014 for additional data by the cloud 7004 to the hub 7006 may be made based on a set of inquiries as shown in FIG. 40. This triggered request 11014 may be a push request sent by the central servers 7013 of the cloud 7004. In particular, the processors 7008 can execute the data collection and aggregation data analytic module 7022 to implement this trigger condition functionality. This push request may comprise an update request sent by the cloud 7004 to the hub 7006 to indefinitely collect new data associated with the device data 11002. That is, the hub 7006 may collect additional data until the cloud 7004 transmits another message rescinding the update request. The push request could also be a conditional update request. Specifically, the push request could comprise initiating a prompt for the hub 7006 to send additional information only if certain conditions or events occur. For example, one condition might be if the sealing temperature used by the surgical instrument 7012 to treat tissue exceeds a predetermined threshold. The push request could also have a time bounding component. In other words, the push request could cause the surgical hub 7006 to obtain additional data for a specific predetermined time period, such as three months. The time period could be based on an estimated remaining useful life of the surgical instrument 7012, for example. As discussed above, the request 11014 for additional data may occur after the specific surgical instrument 7012 is flagged, which may be due to an affirmative determination at steps 11006, 11008 described above.

As shown in FIG. 40, the triggered request 11014 for additional data may include four inquiries that can be considered trigger conditions for additional information. At the first inquiry, the hub 7006 determines 11016 whether the device data 11002 represents an outlier with no known cause. For example, application of therapeutic energy to tissue during a surgical procedure by the surgical instrument 7012 may cause patient bleeding even though surgical parameters appear to be within a normal range (e.g., temperature and pressure values are within expected range). In this situation, the critical device data 11002 indicates an irregularity without a known reason. The outlier determination 11016 can be made based on comparison of the device data 11002 to an expected value or based on a suitable statistical process control methodology. For example, an actual value of the device data 11002 may be determined to be an outlier based on a comparison of the actual value to a mean expected (i.e., average) value. Calculating that the comparison is beyond a certain threshold can also indicate an outlier. For example, a statistical process control chart could be used to monitor and indicate that the difference between the actual and expected value is a number of standard deviations beyond a threshold (e.g., 3 standard deviations). If the device data 11002 is determined to be an outlier without a known reason, the request 11014 is triggered by the cloud 7004 to the hub 7006. In response, the hub 7006 timely transmits 11024 additional information to the cloud 7004, which may provide different, supporting, or additional information to diagnose the reason for the outlier. Other insights into the outlier may also be derived in this way. For example, the cloud 7004 may receive additional surgical procedure parameter information such as the typical clamping force used by other surgical instruments 7012 at the same point in the surgical procedure when the patient bleeding occurred. The expected value may be determined based on aggregated data stored in the aggregated medical data database 7012, such as by averaging the outcomes or performance of groups of similarly situated surgical instruments 7012. If at step 11016, the data is not determined to be an outlier, the flow diagram proceeds to step 11018.

The second inquiry is another example of a trigger condition. At step 11018, the hub 7006 determines 11018 whether device data 11002 involves data that can be classified as suspicious, which can be implemented by the authorization and security module 7024. For example, suspicious data may include situations in which an unauthorized manipulation is detected. These include situations where the data appears significantly different than expected so as to suggest unauthorized tampering, data or serial numbers appear to be modified, security of surgical instruments 7012 or corresponding hub 7006 appears to be comprised. Significantly different data can refer to, for example, an unexpected overall surgical outcome such as a successful surgical procedure occurring despite a surgical instrument 7012 time of usage being significantly lower than expected or a particular unexpected surgical parameter such as a power level applied to the tissue significantly exceeding what would be expected for the tissue (e.g., calculated based on a tissue impedance property). Significant data discrepancies could indicate data or serial number modification. In one example, a stapling surgical instrument 7012 may generate a separate unique staple pattern in a surgical operation which may be used to track or verify whether the serial number of that stapling surgical instrument 7012 is subsequently modified. Furthermore, data or serial number modification such as tampering may be detected via other associated information of a surgical instrument 7012 that can be independently verified with the aggregated medical data databases 7011 or some other suitable data modification detection technique.

Moreover, compromised security, such as unauthorized or irregular access to any surgical hub 7006 or other protected data sets stored within the cloud 7004 can be detected by a cloud-based security and authentication system incorporating the authorization and security module 7024. The security and authentication system can be a suitable cloud based intrusion detection system (IDS) for detecting compromised security or integrity. The cloud IDS system can analyze the traffic (i.e. network packets) of the cloud computing network 7001 or collect information (e.g., system logs or audit trails) at various surgical hub 7006 for detecting security breaches. Compromised security detection techniques include comparison of collected information against a predefined set of rules corresponding to a known attack which is stored in the cloud 7004 and anomaly based detection. The cloud 7004 can monitor data from a series of surgical operations to determine whether outliers or data variations significantly reduce without an apparent reason, such as a reduction without a corresponding change in parameters of used surgical instruments 7012 or a change in surgical technique. Additionally, suspiciousness can be measured by a predetermined suspiciousness or unexpectedness threshold, unauthorized modification of device data 11002, unsecure communication of data, or placement of the surgical instrument 7012 on a watch list (as described in further detail below). The suspiciousness or unexpectedness threshold can refer to a deviation (e.g., measured in standard deviations) that exceeds surgical instrument 7012 design specifications. Unauthorized data communication or modification can be determined by the authorization and security module 7024 when the data encryption of the cloud 7004 is violated or bypassed. In sum, if the hub 7006 determines 11018 the data is suspicious for any of the reasons described above, the request 11014 for additional data may be triggered. In response, the hub 7006 timely transmits 11024 additional information to the cloud 7004, which may provide different, supporting, or additional information to better characterize the suspiciousness. If at step 11018, the answer to the second inquiry is no, the flow diagram proceeds to step 11020.

The third and fourth inquiries depict additional trigger conditions. At step 11020, the hub 7006 may determine that device data 11002 indicates a unique identifier of the surgical instrument 7012 that matches an identifier maintained on a watchlist (e.g., “black list” of prohibited devices). As described above, the “black list” is a watch list that can be maintained as a set of database records comprising identifiers corresponding to prohibited surgical hubs 7006, surgical instruments 7012, and other medical devices. The black list can be implemented by the authorization and security module 7024. Moreover, surgical instruments 7012 on the black list may be prevented from fully functioning or restricted from access with surgical hubs 7006. For example, an energy surgical instrument 7012 may be prevented from functioning (i.e. an operational lockout) via the cloud 7004 or surgical hub 7006 transmitting a signal to the hub 7006 or surgical instrument 7012 to prevent the generator from applying power to the energy surgical instrument 7012. This operational lockout can generally be implemented in response to an irregularity indicated by the critical device data 11002. Surgical instruments can be included on the black list for a variety of reasons such as the authorization and security module 7012 determining the presence of counterfeit surgical instruments 7012 using internal authentication codes, unauthorized reselling of surgical instruments 7012 or related products from one region to another, deviation in performance of surgical instruments 7012 that is nonetheless within design specifications, and reuse of surgical instruments 7012 or related products that are designed for single patient use. For example, internal authentication codes may be unique identifiers maintained by the cloud 7004 in the memory devices 7010. Other unauthorized usage could also result in placement on the black list.

The use of counterfeit authentication codes may be a security breach that is detectable by the cloud IDS system. Reselling of surgical instruments 7012 into other regions could be detected via region specific indicators of resold surgical instrument 7012 or surgical hubs 7006, for example. The region specific indicator could be encrypted using a suitable encryption technique. In this way, the cloud 7004 may detect when the region specific indicators of a resold surgical instrument 7012 do not match the corresponding region of intended use. Reuse of a single use surgical instrument 7012 can be monitored by detecting tampering with a lockout mechanism (e.g., a stapler cartridge lockout mechanism of a stapling surgical instrument), programming a microprocessor of the single use surgical instrument 7012 to transmit a warning signal to the corresponding surgical hub 7006 when more than one use occurs, or another suitable detection technique. Performance deviation could be monitored using statistical process control methods as described above. The design specifications of particular surgical instruments 7012 may be considered the control limits of a statistical process control methodology. In one example, when detected by the cloud 7004, a significant trend toward one of the lower or upper control limits constitutes a sufficient deviation that results in the cloud 7004 adding the corresponding surgical instrument to the black list. As discussed above, a deviation that exceeds design specifications may result determining 11018 the device data 11002 is suspicious. Surgical instruments 7012 may be added to or removed from the black list by the cloud 7004 based on analysis of the requested additional data. In sum, if the hub 7006 determines 11020 the surgical instrument 7012 corresponding to the device data 11002 is on the watchlist, the request 11014 for additional data may be triggered. In response, the hub 7006 timely transmits 11024 additional information to the cloud 7004, which may provide different, supporting, or additional information. If at step 11020, the answer to the second inquiry is no, the flow diagram proceeds to step 11022.

The trigger condition at step 11022 comprises the hub 70006 determining whether the device data 11002 indicates the surgical instrument 7012 has malfunctioned. In one aspect, a surgical instrument 7012 malfunction results in an automated product inquiry through the corresponding surgical hub 7006. The hub 7006 sending 11024 additional data to the cloud 7004 may comprise all pertinent data of the surgical instrument 7012 being immediately transmitted to the cloud through the surgical hub 7006, which may result in central server 7013 processors 7008 of the cloud 7004 executing an automated product inquiry algorithm. However, such an algorithm may not be immediately executed or at all if the malfunction is not significant. The cloud 7004 may be configured to record this set of pertinent data for all surgical instruments 7012 for contingent use when such automated product inquiries are instituted. The automated product inquiry algorithm comprises the cloud 7004 searching for previous incidents that are related to the malfunction. The cloud 7004 may populate a group of records in the aggregated medical data databases 7011 with any incidents or activity related to the malfunction. Subsequently, a corrective and preventive action (CAPA) portion of the algorithm may be instituted for reducing or eliminating such malfunctions or non-conformities. CAPA and the automated product inquiry algorithm are one example of a possible internal response 11102 of the cloud 7004 of the cloud-based analytics system.

CAPA involves investigating, recording and analyzing the cause of a malfunction or non-conformity. To implement CAPA, the cloud 7004 may analyze the populated related records in the aggregated medical data databases 7011, which may include aggregated data fields such as surgical instrument 7012 manufacture dates, times of use, initial parameters, final state/parameters, and surgical instrument 7012 numbers of uses. Thus, both individual and aggregated data maybe used. In other words, the cloud 7004 may analyze both individual data corresponding to the malfunctioning surgical instrument 7012 as well as aggregated data, collected from all related surgical instruments 7012 to the malfunctioning surgical instrument 7012, for example. Initial and final parameters may be, for example, an initial and final frequency of an applied RF signal of the surgical instrument. CAPA can also involve analysis of the previous time period from when the malfunction occurred or was detected. Such a time period can be, for example, one to two minutes. Based on this CAPA analysis, the cloud 7004 may diagnose the root cause of the malfunction and recommend or execute any suitable corrective action (e.g., readjusting miscalibrated parameters). The automated product inquiry algorithm can also involve a longer follow up of patient outcomes for patients treated with the specific surgical instrument 7012.

For example, the cloud 7004 may determine a priority status of watch list for the surgical instrument 7012 so that the surgical instrument 7012 may be monitored for a period of time after the malfunction is detected and addressed. Moreover, the malfunction may cause the cloud 7004 to expand a list of medical items to be tracked (e.g., the integrity of tissue seals made during surgery). This list of items to be tracked may be performed in conjunction with the patient outcome monitoring by the patient outcome analysis module 7028. The cloud 7004 may also respond to an irregularity indicated by the malfunction by monitoring patient outcomes corresponding to the irregularity. For example, the cloud 7004 can monitor whether the irregularity corresponds to unsuccessful surgical operations for a predetermined amount of time such as 30 days. Any corrective action also can be assessed by the cloud 7004. Other data fields can also be monitored in addition to the fields discussed above. In this way, the cloud may timely diagnose and respond to surgical instrument 7012 malfunctions using individual and aggregate data in a manner that an individual healthcare facility could not achieve.

In one aspect, if the answer to any of steps 11016, 11018, 11020, 11022 (i.e. trigger conditions) is affirmative (i.e. the trigger condition is activated), then additional data associated or pertinent to the device data 11002 is sent to the cloud 7004, as can be seen in FIG. 40. This additional data may be handled by the data sorting and prioritization module 7032 while the patient outcome analysis module 7028 may analyze the data, for example. In contrast, if the answer to all of steps 11016, 11018, 11020, 11022 is negative, then the respective data is stored 11026 within the corresponding surgical hub 7006. Thus, when the answer at step 11022 is no, the device data 11002 may be stored locally within the hub 7006 and no additional data is requested of the hub 7006. Alternatively, the device data may be sent to the cloud 7006 for storage within the memory devices 7010, for example, without any triggered requests 11014 by the cloud 7004 for additional data. Steps 11016, 11018, 11020, 11022 could also be used for identifying critical data or flagging the surgical instrument (if the specific surgical device has not already been flagged based on steps 11006, 11008) as part of the screening criteria applied at step 11004. Other trigger conditions aside from steps 11016, 11018, 11020, 11022 are also possible for triggering the request 11014 for additional data. The request can be sent to all surgical hubs 7006 or a subset thereof. The subset can be geographically specific such that, for example, if surgical hub 7006 used in healthcare facilities located in Illinois and Iowa have malfunctioned in a similar manner, only surgical hub 7006 corresponding to healthcare facilities in the Midwestern United States are requested 11014 for additional information. The requested additional data can be different or supporting data concerning the particular use of surgical instruments 7012 so that the cloud 7004 may gain additional insight into the source of the irregularity, as represented by steps 11016, 11018, 11020, 11022. For example, if malfunctioning surgical instruments 7012 are causing undesirable patient bleeding, the cloud 7004 may request timing information regarding this bleeding for help in potentially diagnosing why the malfunction is causing the bleeding.

The criticality of data can be identified based on the screening criteria as described above, or by any other suitable data analysis technique. In one aspect, as shown in FIG. 41, when the critical data is determined, an internal analytic response 11102 of the cloud 7004 may commence. The internal analytic response 11102 can advantageously be made in a timely manner such as in real time or near real time. As discussed above, the criticality of data can be identified based on the severity of an event, the unexpected nature of the data, the suspiciousness of the data, or some other screening criteria (e.g., an internal business flag). The determination of critical data can involve a request generated by a surgical hub 7006 based on the surgical hub 7006 detecting an irregularity or failure of a corresponding surgical instrument 7012 or of a component of the surgical hub 7006 itself. The request by the surgical hub 7006 may comprise a request for a particular prioritization or special treatment of critical data by the cloud 7004. In various aspects, the cloud internal analytic response 11102 could be to escalate an alarm or response based on the frequency of the event associated with the critical device data 11002, route the device data 11002 to different locations within the cloud computing system, or exclude the device data 11002 from the aggregated medical data databases 7011. In addition, the cloud 7004 could also automatically alter a parameter of a malfunctioning surgical instrument 7012 so that modifications for addressing the malfunction can be implemented in real time or near real time. In this manner, even malfunctions that are not readily detected by a clinician in a healthcare facility, for example, may still be advantageously addressed in a timely manner by the cloud 7004.

FIG. 41 is a flow diagram of an aspect of responding to critical data by the computer-implemented interactive surgical system, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. In particular, the internal analytic response 11102 by the cloud 7004 can include handling critical data which includes determining a priority status to determine a time component or prioritization of the response. The response 11102 itself may be based on an operational characteristic indicated by the critical data, such as the characteristics described above in connection with the screening criteria or the trigger conditions of FIG. 40. The internal response 11102 may be implemented by the data sorting and prioritization module 7032 as well as the data collection and aggregation module 7022. As shown in FIG. 41, in the prioritization branch of the flow diagram (labeled as Q1 in FIG. 41) the cloud may incorporate the binary decision of whether to exclude the critical data from the aggregated medical data databases 7011 with a priority escalation decision framework. At step 11104 of FIG. 41, the cloud 7004 determines whether the critical data should be excluded from the aggregated medical data databases 7011. The exclusion determination may be considered a threshold determination.

It can be desirable to exclude critical data from the aggregated medical data databases 7011 for verification purposes. For example, critical data that is flagged or designated for special routing may be placed on a hold list maintained by the cloud 7004. The hold list is maintained at a separate storage location in the memory 7010 relative to the aggregated medical data databases 7011 within the cloud 7004, such as the caches 7018. The excluded critical data could also be stored in a more permanent storage location in the memory 7010. Accordingly, if the answer to step 11104 is yes, the cloud 7004 stores 11118 the critical data in the hold list. The cloud 7004 may then validate or verify that the critical device data 11002 is accurate. For example, the cloud 7004 may analyze whether the device data 11002 is logical in light of a corresponding patient outcome or analyze additional associated data of the device data 11002. Upon proper verification, the device data 11002 may also be stored within the aggregated medical data databases 7011. But if the device data 11002 is not verified, the cloud 7004 may not include the unverified device data 11002 in the priority escalation decision framework. That is, before verification, the device data 11002 may not be assigned a priority status according to the priority status classification 11106 for the internal cloud response 11102.

However, if the device data 11002 is verified, the flow diagram may proceed to the priority status classification 11106. Accordingly, if the answer to the exclusion determination at step 11104 is no, the device data 11002 is prioritized according to the priority escalation decision framework, which can define a predetermined escalation method for handling critical data. As shown in FIG. 41, a predetermined escalation prioritization system 11106 (i.e., priority escalation decision framework) can comprise four categories, including watch list, automated response, notification, and urgent action required. This predetermined escalation prioritization system 11106 can be considered a form of triage based on classifying critical data according a priority status and escalating between statuses based on particular thresholds. For example, priority can be escalated based on a frequency of event threshold such as the number of misaligned staples fired by a stapling surgical instrument 7012 over a predetermined number of surgical operations. Multiple staggered frequency or other thresholds could also be used. The lowest priority level of the priority status classification 11106 is the watch list level designated at level A. As discussed above, the watch list may be a black list maintained in the memory 7010 as a set of database records of identifiers corresponding to prohibited surgical hubs 7006. Surgical hubs 7006 can be prohibited to different extents depending on the nature of the critical device data 11002 or additional data. For example, surgical hubs 7006 may be partially locked out such that only the device components experiencing problems are prevent from functioning. Alternatively, surgical hub 7006 on the watch list may not be restricted from functioning in any way. Instead, the surgical hubs 7006 may be monitored by the cloud 7004 for any additional irregularities that occur. Accordingly, the watch list is designated at level A, the least urgent priority status. As shown in the priority status classification 11106, the automated response at level B is the next most urgent priority status. An automated response could be, for example, an automated initial analysis of the device data 11002 by the patient outcome analysis module 7028 of the cloud 7004 via a set of predefined diagnostic tests.

The third most urgent priority status is notification, which is designated at level C of the priority status classification 11106. In this situation, the cloud 7004 transmits a wireless signal to a healthcare facility employee, clinician, healthcare facility department, or other responsible party depending on the nature of the device data 11002. The notification signal can be received at a receiver device located at a suitable location within the healthcare facility, for example. Receiving the notification signal can be indicated by a vibration or sound to notify the responsible party at the healthcare facility. The holder of the receiver device (e.g., a healthcare facility clinician) may then conduct further analysis of the critical device data 11002 or additional data or other analysis for resolving an indicated irregularity. If a solution to the irregularity is known, the solution may be timely implemented. The most urgent priority status as depicted in the priority status classification 11106 is urgent action required, which is designed at level D. Urgent action required indicates that a responsible party, device or instrument should immediately analyze and diagnose the problem implicated by the critical data. Upon proper diagnosis, an appropriate response should immediately be performed. In this way, the cloud 7004 may implement a comprehensive approach to critical data prioritization and triaging that no individual medical facility could achieve on its own. Critical data may be handled in a timely manner according to suitable priority levels which can address solving time sensitive problems that arise in the healthcare field. Moreover, the cloud 7004 can prioritize aggregated critical data from all healthcare facilities categorized within a particular region. Accordingly, the time sensitive prioritized approach to handling critical data can be applied system wide, such as to a group of healthcare facilities. Furthermore, the cloud 7004 can generate an alert for a responsible party to respond to critical data (and associated issues implicated by such critical data) in a timely way such as in real time or in near real time according to a corresponding priority status. This alert can be received by a suitable receiver of the responsible party. The priority status of the device data 11002 could also be determined based on the severity of the surgical issue implicated by the device data 11002. As discussed above, the cloud 7004 may receive additional data from surgical hubs 7006 or surgical instruments 7012 (via the hubs 7006) which causes the cloud 7004 to elevate the priority status of the device data 11002.

In one aspect, based on a priority status, the device data 11002 may be subject to the flagging screening at a specific time depending on priority. For example, the device data 11002 may be indicated as critical data but not yet flagged. Additionally, the device data 11002 may first receive an automated response level of priority according to the priority status classification 11106. In this situation, the severity determination at step 11108 may be relatively quickly in accordance with the level B of priority. Specifically, step 11108 may be reached without first placing the surgical instrument 7012 on a watch list. The severity threshold used at step 11108 can be the same or different from the severity threshold used in 11006. Aside from the severity determination at step 11108, other determinations pertinent to the irregularity indicated by the critical device data 11002 or additional data may be made. These determinations may be used to diagnose the occurrence of a critical event. Accordingly, if the answer at step 11108 is yes, the frequency of the event may be assessed at step 11110. Conversely, if the answer at step 11108 is no, the device data 11002 or additional data can be stored 11118 in the hold list. Additionally or alternatively, the device data 11002 or additional data can be routed to different storage locations within the cloud 7004 according to the routing branch of the flow diagram (labeled as Q2 in FIG. 41). The cloud 7004 may wait for a request from the hub 7006 for alternative routing 11120 of the device data 11002 or additional data. At step 11110, the cloud 7004 determines the frequency that the critical event is occurring. Based on this frequency, the priority status assigned according to the priority status classification 11106 can be escalated (see step 11116). For example, the critical event may be the generator of the surgical instrument 7012 is applying an insufficient sealing temperature to therapeutically treat tissue. In other words, the inquiry of step 11110 inquires whether the medical event implicated by the critical data is occurring at an increasing frequency after the problem was initially identified.

An increase in the number of times this insufficient sealing temperature occurs can be monitored to escalate priority status at step 11116, based on frequency thresholds (see step 11112), for example. If at step 11110, the event is not increasing in frequency, the data can be stored 11118 in the hold list. If the answer at step 11110 is yes (i.e., the event is increasing in frequency), the flow diagram proceeds to step 11112. At step 11112, another data verification inquiry is made. In particular, specific thresholds such as the frequency thresholds described above may be applied to determine whether the combination of device data 11002 or additional data is sufficiently correct to ensure that the critical data should be added to the aggregated medical data databases 7011. Furthermore, the data verification inquiry at step 11112 may comprise a decision regarding whether the sample size of the critical data is sufficiently large (i.e., reached critical mass). Additionally or alternatively, the sample size is analyzed for whether there is sufficient information to determine an appropriate internal response 11102 of the cloud 7004. The data verification inquiry can also comprise verifying the accuracy of the data by comparison to predetermined standards or verification tests. If the answer to the inquiry at step 11112 is negative, then the critical data is stored within the separate storage location (e.g., hold list) in the cloud 7004. If the answer to the inquiry at step 11110 is affirmative, the device data 11002 or additional data is added to the aggregated medical data databases 7011. At step 11116, the priority status of the device data 11002 or additional data is increased according to the priority status classification 11106. However, besides the event frequency determination, the addition to the aggregated medical data databases 7011 may itself be an action that results in an elevation of the priority status of the critical data at step 7. In any case, the priority status of the device data 11002 or additional data may be escalated or deescalated as appropriate based on additional analysis or data, for example. An internal response 11102 of the cloud 7004 may be made according to the current priority status (i.e., one of levels A-D) of the critical data.

In addition to prioritizing critical data, the internal response 11102 of the cloud 7004 can also involve advantageously routing, grouping, or sorting critical data the aggregated critical data in a timely manner. In particular, the data may be routed to different storage locations within the cloud 7004, such as in the memory devices 7010. This routing is illustrated by routing branch of the flow diagram labeled as Q2 in FIG. 41 at step 11120. As such, the memory devices 7010 of the central servers 7013 of the cloud 7004 can be organized into various locations that correspond to a characteristic of the critical data or a response corresponding to the critical data. For example, the total memory capability of the memory devices 7010 may be divided into portions that only store data according to individual data routing categories, such as those used at steps 11122, 11124, 11126. As shown at step 11120 of FIG. 41, the critical data may be routed to different various cloud storage locations. Step 11120 can occur in conjunction with or separately from the prioritization branch of the flow diagram. Step 11120 may be triggered by a request generated by a hub 7006. The hub 7006 may transmit such a request because of detecting a failure or irregularity associated with a surgical instrument 7012, for example. The associated critical data may then receive alternative routing 11120 by the cloud 7004 to different cloud storage locations. At step 11122, the alternative routing 11120 can comprise geographical location based routing. That is, the different cloud storage locations may correspond to location based categorization of the cloud memory devices 7010. Various subsets of the cloud memory devices 7010 can correspond to various geographical regions. For example, surgical instruments produced from a manufacturing plant in Texas could be grouped together in storage within the cloud memory devices 7010. In another example, surgical instruments produced from a specific manufacturing company can be categorized together in the cloud memory devices 7010. Therefore, location based categorization can comprise the cloud 7004 routing critical data based on associations with different manufacturing sites or operating companies.

At step 11124, the alternative routing 11120 can comprise routing for device data 11002 or additional data that requires a rapid internal response 11102 of the cloud 7004. This alternative routing 11120 at step 11124 could be integrated with the priority status classification 11106. For example, escalated or urgent priority critical data, such as those at priority level C and D, may be routed by the cloud 7004 to rapid response portions of the memory devices 7010 to enable a rapid response. For example, such critical data may be routed to rapid response caches 7018 which signifies that a rapid response is necessary. At step 11126, device data 11002 or additional data that implicates a failure of a type that requires special processing are routed to a special processing portion of the memory devices 7010. For example, a surgical instrument 7012 may be determined to have experienced a failure or malfunction during operation based on a control program deficiency common to a whole group of surgical instruments 7012. In this situation, special processing may be required to transmit a collective control program update to the group of surgical instruments 7012. Accordingly, the cloud may route the critical data to the special processing portion of the memory devices 7010 to trigger this special processing. Subsequently, the special processing could also include the patient outcome analysis data analytics module 7028 analyzing and monitoring the effect of the control program update on patient outcomes. The patient outcome analysis module 7028 may also execute an automated product inquiry algorithm as discussed above if necessary.

FIG. 42 is a flow diagram of an aspect of data sorting and prioritization by the computer-implemented interactive surgical system, according to one aspect of the present disclosure. This sorting and prioritization may be implemented by the data sorting and prioritization module 7032, the data collection and aggregation module 7022, and patient outcome analysis module 7028. As discussed above, critical device data 11002 or additional data can implicate or correspond to various medical events, such as events 1 through 3 as depicted in FIG. 42. An event may be for example, a shift from a phase of tissue treatment to another phase such as a shift from a phase corresponding to cutting with the specific surgical instrument to a phase corresponding to coagulation. In FIG. 42, critical data associated with a first medical event 11202 is detected by the surgical hub 7006 and transmitted to the cloud 7004. Upon receiving the critical data, the cloud 7004 analyzes the critical data at step 11208 to determine that it is comparable to an expected value of the critical data, as described above for example at step 11016. When the critical data is determined as comparable (i.e., the value of the critical data is expected), the critical data may be aggregated within a large data set in the aggregated medical data databases 7011, for example. That is, at step 11216, the critical data is stored within the aggregated databases of the cloud. As shown in FIG. 42, the critical data is also subject to a binary classification at steps 11218, 11220. For example, the critical data can be distinguished by good properties and bad properties. The data sorting and prioritization modules can classify the critical data as associated with a bleeding or a non-bleeding event, for example. In this way, the patient outcome analysis module 7028 may classify critical data as corresponding to a positive patient outcome at step 11218 or a negative patient outcome at step 11210.

FIG. 42 also shows the critical data associated with a second medical event 11204 is detected by the surgical hub 7006 and transmitted to the cloud 7004. The critical data associated with the second medical event 11204 is determined by the cloud to be suspicious or unusual data at step 11210, which is a trigger condition as described above with reference to step 11118. Accordingly, the cloud 7004 is triggered to request 11114 additional data from the surgical hub 7006 at step 11212 by transmitting a push message to the surgical hub 7006. As discussed above, the additional data may enable the patient outcome analysis module 7028 of the cloud 7004 to gain additional insight into the source of the irregularity implicated by the critical data. If the patient outcome analysis module 7028 sufficiently diagnoses the cause of the second medical event 11214, the critical data or associated additional data is aggregated into the aggregated medical data databases 7011 at step 11216 (see also step 11114). Subsequently, the critical data or additional data is classified according to the good/bad binary classification at steps 11218, 11220. If the cloud 7004 cannot sufficiently diagnose the cause of the second medical event 11204, the process may proceed to step 11224, in which the critical data is evaluated by a suitable person or department of the corresponding medical facility. Step 11224 can include the threshold data exclusion determination at step 11104. That is, because a good reason cannot be readily determined for the suspicious or unusual data, the data may be stored in a hold list in accordance with step 11118. Additionally, the device data 11002 or additional data may be designated at priority status level C, which triggers the evaluation at step 11224 (i.e., healthcare facility employee, clinician, healthcare facility department, or other responsible party evaluates the data).

As illustrated in FIG. 42, the critical data associated with a third medical event 11206 is detected by the surgical hub 7006 and transmitted to the cloud 7004. The critical data associated with the third medical event 11206 is determined by the cloud 7004 to indicate that the corresponding surgical instrument 7012 is experiencing a failure or malfunction at step 11220. As discussed above, severity thresholds can be used to determine whether the failure is severe. The failure or malfunction may refer back to the trigger condition at step 11022 in FIG. 40 such that the surgical instrument malfunction results in an automated product inquiry through the surgical hub 7006. As discussed above, the automated product inquiry algorithm may comprise the patient outcome analysis module 7028 searching for data of related incidents stored within the cloud 7004 (e.g., the memory devices 7010). The data of related incidents can include video, manufacturer, temporal, and other suitable types of data. Depending on the results of the automated product inquiry, the third medical event 11206 critical data can be prioritized according to priority status classification 11106. Thus, for example, the inquiry may result in a suspicious or unusual result without a sufficient reason, so the critical data is designated at priority level C. In this connection, a suitable person or department of the corresponding medical facility evaluates the critical data and the results of the automated product inquiry at step 11224. The results of the evaluation could be, for example, that the results constitute an error to be disregarded at step 11226 or that the results require additional special processing via the patient outcome analysis module 7028 at step 11228 (see also step 11126). Such special processing at step 11228 can be the CAPA portion of the automated product inquiry algorithm, as described above. Thus, the cloud-based analytics system may generate timely alerts for triggering a response by the suitable person or department in real time or near real time.

In general, the cloud-based analytics system described herein may determine critical data and perform timely data handling, sorting, and prioritizing based on priority status and specific thresholds as described above. Accordingly, the cloud-based analytics system advantageously handles critical data in a timely, systematic, and holistic manner over multiple health care facilities. The critical data handling comprises internal responses by the cloud 7004 based on assigned priority levels. Moreover, based on requests by surgical hubs 7006, special routing of data within the memory device 7010 of the cloud 7004 may be achieved. The rerouting, prioritizing, confirming, or requesting supporting as described above may be used to improve analysis of the data by the cloud 7004.

All client care institutions require some level of control in a treatment environment. For example, an institution may wish to control inventory that is present within an operating room. Inventory items within an operating room may include not only medical devices to be used during surgery (e.g., scalpels, clamps, surgical tools, etc.) but also medical supplies to be used during surgery in conjunction with such medical devices (e.g., gauze, sutures, staples, etc.). Heretofore, inventory control for many institutions comprises a simple manual count of inventory items on a periodic basis (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, etc.). Similarly, other institutions utilize a barcode scanner to count and/or document inventory items on a periodic basis.

Aspects of the present disclosure are presented for a cloud interface accessible by participating client care institutions via a cloud-based analytics system. In order to monitor and/or control inventory items to be utilized or being utilized by an institution, each institution adopts its own practice of documenting inventory item usage. For example, an institution may manually count and/or scan inventory items on a periodic basis. Additional example details are disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0249917, titled SURGICAL APPARATUS CONFIGURED TO TRACK AN END-OF-LIFE PARAMETER, which published on Sep. 1, 2016, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2014/0110453, titled SURGICAL INSTRUMENT WITH RAPID POST EVENT DETECTION, which issued on Feb. 23, 2016 as U.S. Pat. No. 9,265,585, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2016/0310134, titled HANDHELD ELECTROMECHANICAL SURGICAL SYSTEM, which published on Oct. 27, 2017, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2015/0317899, titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USING RFID TAGS TO DETERMINE STERILIZATION OF DEVICES, which published on Nov. 5, 2015, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. Information regarding counted and/or scanned inventory items may then be stored in a local computer system to track inventory item usage. Such a manual process is not only labor intensive and inefficient, but also prone to human error. As a result, an institution may be unable to perform a surgical procedure(s) and/or the surgical procedure(s) may be unnecessarily delayed because one or more inventory items, required for the surgical procedure(s), are not available for use for various reasons (e.g., out of stock, in stock but expired, in stock but no longer considered sterile, in stock but defective, etc.). Knowing this, some institutions are forced to carry and/or hold an overstock of inventory items. This, of course, may result in increase expense (e.g., more inventories) and ultimately unnecessary waste (e.g., expired inventory items).

To help institutions control inventory items, it would be desirable for institutions to have access, via a cloud interface, to a cloud-based analytics system configured to automate inventory control by automatically receiving data associated with inventory items of the institutions, deriving information based on the received data, and conveying, via the cloud interface, real-time knowledge back to the institutions regarding inventory items. Referring to FIG. 43, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, a client care institution system 8000 may transmit (e.g., periodically, in real-time, in batches, etc.) inventory data to a cloud-based analytics system 8002 and the cloud-based analytics system 8002 may derive/extract information from that inventory data. In such an aspect, a cloud-interface 8004 may be accessed/queried by the client care institution system 8000 and the cloud-based analytics system 8002 may transmit its derived/extracted information to the cloud-interface 8004. Further, in such an aspect, the cloud-interface 8004 may convey/package/structure the derived/extracted information to the client care institution system 8000 to reveal knowledge about the client care institution's inventory. In one aspect, the client care institution system may comprise a surgical system 102 (e.g., FIG. 1), the cloud-based analytics system may comprise the cloud-based system 105 (e.g., FIG. 1) and the cloud-interface may comprise at least one of a visualization system 108/208 (e.g., FIGS. 1-2) or a display 135/177 associated with the surgical hub 106 (e.g., FIGS. 1-3, 7, etc.).

Referring to FIG. 1, in some aspects of the present disclosure, a cloud-based system 105 is communicatively coupled to one or more than one surgical hub of an institution (e.g., one or more than one surgical hub 106 of a surgical system 102). Here, each surgical hub is in communication (e.g., wirelessly) with one or more than one inventory item (e.g., intelligent instrument 112). The cloud-based system 105 may be configured to aggregate data associated with each inventory item of each institution, analyze that data with respect to system-defined constraints, and generate or facilitate a cloud interface for each institution to monitor and control inventory items. In one example, the cloud-based system 105 may be configured to compute a current availability of each inventory item (e.g., an indication of real-time usage and/or scheduled usage for each inventory item in a surgical system 102), a current usage associated with each inventory item (e.g., based on data received from one or more than one surgical hub 106 that has read usage data from a chip/memory associated with each inventory item), irregularities, if any, associated with each inventory item (e.g., defects, etc.), current possible medical device combinations that utilize each inventory item (e.g., various shafts, staple cartridges, end effectors, etc. combinable to form numerous medical device combinations), and available alternatives to each inventory item (e.g., available shaft B and/or shaft C may be substituted for unavailable shaft A for a desired/input surgical procedure(s)). Referring to FIGS. 44-45, in such an exemplification, after input of a desired surgical procedure(s) (e.g., “cholecystectomy”) by an institution in its cloud interface 8104, the cloud-based system 105 may provide up-to-date, real-time and/or near real-time knowledge regarding the availability and/or usability of inventory items (e.g., associated with and/or needed to perform the input surgical procedure(s)) based on the system-defined constraints. Referring to FIG. 45, in one example, the institution's cloud interface 8104 may display an inventory item 8106 (e.g., Handles A, B, and C) in association with its current 8108 and/or remaining usage 8110. If the remaining usage is not adequate (e.g., based on anticipated usage necessary for the desired surgical procedure, etc.), the cloud interface may further display a warning or alert regarding the inadequacy (e.g., 8112, highlighting, blacked out, etc.). Such a warning or alert may indicate that the surgical procedure(s) input at the cloud interface cannot be performed based on current inventory items. In one aspect, a same or similar warning or alert may be communicated to the inventory item itself for display on a user interface of the inventory item itself (e.g., a user interface of Handle C). In another aspect, the cloud interface may further display available alternatives to the inventory item (e.g., Handle B). Here, anticipated usage and/or available alternatives may be determined at the surgical hub 106 (e.g., based on local data) and/or the cloud-based analytics system 105 (e.g., based on local data of the surgical hub 106 and/or global data from multiple surgical hubs 106 of multiple institutions). In one example, the surgical hub 106 may infer anticipated usage and/or available alternatives from local data associated with the same or similar surgical procedure (e.g., average number of uses to perform the same or similar surgical procedure, alternative inventory items used to perform the same or similar surgical procedure, etc.). In another example, the cloud-based analytics system 105 may similarly infer anticipated usage and/or available alternatives from local data of the surgical hub 106 and/or global data from multiple surgical hubs 106 of multiple institutions (e.g., average number of uses to perform the same or similar surgical procedure, alternative inventory items used to perform the same or similar surgical procedure, etc.).

In other aspects of the present disclosure, a cloud-based system 105 is communicatively coupled to one or more than one surgical hub 106 of an institution, each surgical hub 106 in communication (e.g., wirelessly) with one or more than one inventory item (e.g., intelligent instrument 112). The cloud-based system 105 may be configured to create a list of inventory items not authorized to perform surgical procedures due to one or more system-defined constraints. In one exemplification, after input of a desired surgical procedure(s) by an institution into its cloud interface (e.g., FIG. 44), the cloud-based system 105 may determine that one or more inventory items of the institution (e.g., detected by and associated with and/or needed to perform the input surgical procedure(s)) are not authorized to perform the input surgical procedure(s) based on system-defined constraints. In such an exemplification, it may be determined that an identifier (e.g., serial number, unique ID, etc.) associated with an inventory item is not authorized to perform the input surgical procedure(s) (e.g., inventory item exceeds usable life, inventory item is counterfeit, inventory item is defective, etc.). In one example, the institution's cloud interface may display an inventory item in association with its unauthorized status 8114. In such an aspect, the cloud interface may further display a warning or alert regarding the unauthorized status (e.g., highlighting, blacked out, etc.). Such a warning or alert may indicate that the surgical procedure(s) input at the cloud interface cannot be performed based on current inventory items. In one aspect, a same or similar warning or alert may be communicated to the inventory item itself for display on a user interface of the inventory item itself (e.g., a user interface of Handle D). Similar to above, the cloud interface 8104 may display available alternatives to the unauthorized inventory item (e.g., Handle B).

In yet other aspects of the present disclosure, a cloud-based system 105 is communicatively coupled to one or more than one surgical hub 106 of an institution, each surgical hub 106 in communication (e.g., wirelessly) with one or more than one inventory item (e.g., intelligent instrument 112). The cloud-based system 105 may be configured to create a list of inventory items no longer authorized to perform surgical procedures due to one or more system-defined constraints. In one exemplification, after input of a desired surgical procedure(s) by an institution in its cloud interface (e.g., FIG. 44), the cloud-based system may determine that one or more inventory items are no longer authorized to perform the input surgical procedure(s) based on system-defined constraints. In such an exemplification, it may be determined that an identifier (e.g., serial number, unique ID, etc.) associated with an inventory item is unusable (e.g., expired, no longer sterile, defective, etc.). In one example, the institution's cloud interface may display an inventory item in association with its unusable status 8116. In such an aspect, the cloud interface may further display a warning or alert regarding the unusable status (e.g., highlighting, blacked out, etc.). Such a warning or alert may indicate that the surgical procedure(s) input at the cloud interface cannot be performed based on current inventory items. In one aspect, a same or similar warning or alert may be communicated to the inventory item itself for display on a user interface of the inventory item itself (e.g., a user interface of Handle E). Similar to above, the cloud interface may display available alternatives to the unusable inventory item (e.g., Handle B).

In this way, the cloud-based system 105 of the present disclosure may provide up-to-date, real-time, and/or near real-time knowledge regarding the availability of inventory items pertinent to the surgical procedure(s) input to the cloud interface of the participating institutions. Such a system goes well-beyond conventional processes of manually counting and/or scanning inventory items.

FIG. 46 illustrates an example multi-component surgical tool (e.g., a wireless surgical device/instrument 235) comprising a plurality of modular components 8204, 8206, 8208, 8210, wherein each modular component is associated with an identifier 8214, 8216, 8218, 8220 respectively (e.g., a serial number). In particular, the surgical tool 235 of FIG. 46 includes a handle 8204, a modular adapter 8206, and end effector 8208 (e.g., a disposable loading unit and/or a reloadable disposable loading unit in various aspects), and a staple cartridge 8210. In this example, the handle 8204 is associated with serial number “SN135b”, the modular adapter 8206 is associated with serial number “SN33b”, the end effector 8208 is associated with serial number “SN1a” and the staple cartridge 8210 is associated with serial number SN121b. In such an aspect, each modular component (e.g., 8204, 8206, 8208, 8210, etc.) is configured to request a communication link to a surgical hub 106 of an institution. In other aspects, the surgical hub 106 may be configured to request a communication link with each modular component. Nonetheless, the surgical hub 106 is positioned within a communicative distance from each modular component (e.g., in an operating room). In one aspect of the present disclosure, a requested communication link is established via BLUETOOTH pairing. In other aspects of the present disclosure, other forms of wireless communication (e.g., WiFi, RFID, etc.) or wired communication are contemplated. Referring again to FIG. 46, each modular component (e.g., handle 8204, modular adapter 8206, end effector 8208, staple cartridge 8210, etc.) may comprise a processor and a memory unit (not shown) that stores its respective serial number. Here, according to one aspect, once a communication link is established between the surgical hub 106 and each modular component, the identifier (e.g., serial number) associated with each modular component is transmitted by each modular component to the surgical hub 106 (e.g., via the same form or different forms of wired/wireless communication). In one alternative aspect, in light of FIG. 46, a modular component (e.g., modular adapter 8206, end effector 8208, and/or staple cartridge 8210, etc.) may transmit its respective identifier (e.g., serial number) to another modular component (e.g., handle 8204) that transmits/relays all identifier(s) to the surgical hub 106. Here, similar to above, the same form or different forms of wired/wireless communication may be used. For example, each of the modular adapter 8206, the end effector 8208 and the staple cartridge 8210 may transmit its respective identifier (e.g., 8216, 8218, 8220) to the handle 8204 via RFID and the handle 8204 may relay such identifiers (e.g., 8216, 8218, 8220) along with its own identifier 8214, via BLUETOOTH, to the surgical hub 106. In one aspect, once the surgical hub 106 has received all identifiers for all modular components, the surgical hub 106 may transmit the identifiers to the cloud-based analytics system (e.g., comprising cloud-based system 105).

In various aspects of the present disclosure, the memory unit of each modular component may be configured to store more than its identifier. In one aspect of the present disclosure, each modular component (e.g., 8204, 8206, 8208, 8210, etc.) may further comprise a counter (not shown) configured to track a usage parameter of the modular component and its memory unit may be configured to store that usage parameter. In another aspect, the memory unit of each respective modular component may be further configured to store a usable life metric. Such a usable life metric may be stored during manufacture of the modular component. For example, in view of FIG. 46, the memory unit of the handle 8204 may store both the usage parameter (e.g., 235) and the usable life metric (e.g., 400). In such an aspect, the handle 8204 has been used 235 times out of its usable life of 400 uses. Similarly, in view of FIG. 46, the modular adapter has been used 103 times out of its usable life of 100 uses, and the end effector has been used 5 times out of its usable life of 12 uses. Here, similar to above, once a communication link is established with the surgical hub 106, the identifier, usage parameter and/or usable life metric stored in the memory unit of each modular component may be transmitted directly from each modular component to the surgical hub 106 or indirectly via another modular component. In addition, similar to above, the same form or different forms of wired/wireless communication may be used. In one aspect, once the surgical hub 106 has received all identifiers for all modular components, the surgical hub 106 may transmit the identifiers to the cloud-based analytics system (e.g., comprising cloud-based system 105).

In an alternative aspect of the present disclosure, the memory unit of each modular component may not store its usage parameter and/or the usable life metric. In such an aspect, the usage parameter and/or the usable life metric may be stored in a database or other memory (see FIG. 10, e.g., 248/249) at the surgical hub 106/206. In such an aspect, the surgical hub 106 may comprise a counter configured to track a usage parameter of each modular component in inventory. Furthermore, the surgical hub 106 may be configured to download usable life metrics (e.g., from a manufacturer server) based on the identifier (e.g., serial number) received from each modular component. In various aspects, storage at the surgical hub 106 may be preferred to minimize memory unit requirements in each modular component and/or to avoid any concerns regarding the tampering with and/or the alteration of usage parameters and/or usable life metrics stored at the modular component level (e.g., altering a memory unit of a modular component to reset a usage parameter and/or increase a usable life metric, etc.).

In one example, in aspects where the memory unit of each modular component stores its usage parameter and/or usable life metric, the surgical hub 106 may also store/track the usage parameter and/or usable life metric associated with each modular component in its inventory. In such an example, if a usage parameter and/or a usable life metric transmitted from a modular component differs from a usage parameter and/or a usable life metric stored/tracked at the surgical hub 106, the surgical hub 106 may flag the discrepancy and modify the status of that modular component (e.g., to unavailable, to unauthorized, to unusable, etc.).

In another alternative aspect, the memory unit of each modular component may not store its usage parameter and/or the usable life metric. In such an aspect, the usage parameter and/or the usable life metric may be stored in a database (e.g., aggregated medical data database 7012 in FIG. 22) at a cloud-based analytics system. In such an aspect, the cloud-based analytics system may comprise a counter configured to track a usage parameter of each modular component in inventory at each surgical hub. Furthermore, the cloud-based analytics system may be configured to download usable life metrics (e.g., from a manufacturer server) based on the identifier (e.g., a serial number) received from each modular component (e.g., via a surgical hub). Alternatively, the cloud-based analytics system may download a file comprising all identifiers for all modular components (e.g., from a plurality of manufacturers) wherein each identifier is associated with a usable life metric. Here, the cloud-based analytics system may be configured to look-up a received identifier to determine each respective usable life metric. In various aspects, storage at the cloud-based analytics system may be preferred to minimize memory requirements in each modular component and/or to avoid any concerns regarding the tampering with and/or the alteration of usage parameters and/or usable life metrics at the modular component level and/or at the surgical hub level (e.g., altering memory unit of a modular component to reset a usage parameter and/or increase a usable life metric, modifying the database/memory of the surgical hub to reset a usage parameter and/or increase a usable life metric). Such as aspect gives the cloud-based analytics system of the present disclosure more control over modular component use in the interactive surgical system.

Looking again to FIG. 46, the illustrated multi-component surgical tool 235 comprises four modular components (e.g., handle 8204, modular adapter 8206, end effector 8208, and staple cartridge 8210). Such modular devices may comprise reusable and/or reprocessed components. In various aspects, each modular component must satisfy system-defined constraints for the combined multi-component surgical tool 235 to be available/usable/authorized for use by the cloud-based analytics system. Notably, system-defined constraints may include restrictions other than and/or in addition to the usable life metric discussed above. Such system-defined constraints may be established at the manufacturer level, at the surgical hub level, and/or at the cloud-based analytics system level. One aspect of the present disclosure comprises a user interface at the surgical hub and/or cloud-based analytics system to create system-defined constraints.

In one aspect, the surgical hub 106 may be configured to enforce system-defined constraints (e.g., lockout at the hub level). In such an aspect, this may be preferred so that the surgical hub 106 is a local gateway to accessing the cloud-based analytics system. In another aspect, the cloud-based analytics system (e.g., comprising cloud-based system 105) may be configured to enforce system-defined constraints (e.g., lockout at the cloud-based analytics system level). In such an aspect, this may be preferred to maintain control over all surgical hubs communicatively coupled to the cloud-based analytics system (e.g., at one institution or at multiple institutions). System-defined constraints, similar to the usable life metric, may be associated with the identifier of each modular component. For example, a system-defined constraint associated with a modular component may include an expiration date, a requirement that an identifier (e.g., serial number) is a system-recognizable identifier (e.g., not counterfeit), and/or flexible system-defined constraints (e.g., constraints deemed non-critical until a threshold is met and the constraint is deemed critical). In one aspect of the present disclosure, if one system-defined constraint is not met, a modular component (e.g., 8204, 8206, 8208, 8210, etc.) may be deemed unavailable/unusable/unauthorized despite being available/usable/authorized based on other system-defined constraint(s) (e.g., having remaining usable life). In various aspects, one or more predetermined system-defined constraints are non-critical system-defined constraints. Such non-critical system-defined constraints may be waived (see FIG. 46, e.g., 8274, manual override) to render the modular component available/usable/authorized and/or may produce in a warning indicator/message (see FIG. 46, e.g., 8244). Critical system-defined constraints cannot be waived.

In view of FIG. 46, an example non-critical system-defined constraint is applied (e.g., by the surgical hub 106 and/or the cloud-based analytics system) to the handle 8204. Here, although the handle 8204 has 165 remaining uses (usable life metric less determined usage parameter, e.g., 400-235) an expiration date associated with its identifier 8214 (e.g., SN135b) indicates that the handle's control program is out-of-date. In such an aspect, an interface 8200 may be displayed to show a current status of the handle 8204 (see FIG. 46, e.g., “Count 235/400” and/or “Out-of-Date”). More specifically, the interface 8200 may comprise a grid including fields defined by columns and rows. In one example, the modular components of a proposed multi-component surgical tool 235 may be presented (e.g., in an exploded, unassembled view) across the columns of the grid in a first row 8201 and a current/updated status associated with each modular component may be presented across corresponding columns of the grid in a second row 8202. As such, in accordance with the example, status field 8224 of the interface 8200 corresponds to the handle 8204 and indicates its current status as “COUNT: 235/400” and “OUT-OF-DATE”. According to other aspects, the status field 8224 of the interface 8200 may further show the usage remaining, remaining capabilities, and/or compatibility with other connected modular components, etc.

According to one aspect, the interface 8200 may comprise a cloud-based interface (see FIG. 45, e.g., 8104) accessible on a cloud-access terminal of the surgical hub (via at least one of a visualization system 108/208 (e.g., FIGS. 1-2) or a display 135/177 associated with the surgical hub 106 (e.g., FIGS. 1-3, 7, etc.)). According to another aspect, the interface 8200 may comprise only a portion(s) of the grid (e.g., status field 8224, modular component field 8234, etc.) accessible on the physical handle 8204 itself via a user interface positioned on the handle 8204. Further, in the context of a non-critical system-defined constraint, the interface 8200 may visually indicate a warning associated with a modular component (e.g., warning indicator 8244, e.g., box associated with identifier 8214 highlighted and/or encircled and/or comprises a link 8254 (e.g., “A”) in association with modular component field 8234 of the interface 8200). In one aspect, the link 8254 (e.g., “A”) may key to a corresponding “Description of Problem” section of the interface 8200 (e.g., “A” “Handle Serial Number Indicates OUT OF DATE Control Program”). In another aspect, the link 8254 (e.g., “A”) may be a hyperlink to present the corresponding description (e.g., “A” “Handle Serial Number Indicates OUT OF DATE Control Program”) in the interface 8200. According to such aspects, a portion of the descriptive text (e.g., “OUT OF DATE”), keyed/hyperlinked via link 8254, may be a hyperlink/button 8264. Upon/After selection of the hyperlink/button 8264 a bypass interface 8274 may be presented in the interface 8200. According to another aspect, a portion of descriptive text (e.g., OUT-OF-DATE) in status field 8224 may be a hyperlink/button 8284 to, upon/after selection, directly present the bypass interface 8274 in the interface 8200. Such an aspect may be beneficial/more efficient if the interface 8200 is being presented via a (e.g., smaller) user interface of a modular component (e.g., handle 8204). Further, according to such aspects, the interface 8200 may be configured to receive user input to waive (e.g., manually bypass) a predetermined, non-critical system-defined constraint (e.g., the expiration date constraint). In the context of a non-critical system-defined constraint, the bypass interface 8274 may instruct “USER INPUT NEEDED” and present a first user-interface element (e.g., “Y” button) selectable to bypass the non-critical system-defined constraint (e.g., to permit use of the handle 8204) and a second user-interface element (e.g., “N” button) selectable to not bypass the non-critical system-defined constraint (e.g., to inhibit use of the handle 8204). Here, a selection in the bypass interface 8274 may be transmitted to update the surgical hub 206 and/or the cloud-based system 205.

Next, in view of FIG. 46, an example flexible system-defined constraint is applied (e.g., by the surgical hub 106 and/or the cloud-based analytics system) to the modular adapter 8206. Here, the modular adapter 8206 associated with identifier 8216 (e.g., SN33b) has a usage parameter of 103 (e.g., already 3 times over its suggested usable life metric of 100 uses). In this example, the exceeding use is deemed non-critical until a 10% overage threshold is met (e.g., 110% of the suggested 100 uses, or 110 uses) and the exceeding use is deemed critical. In such an aspect an interface 8200 may be displayed to show a current status of the modular adapter 8206 (see FIG. 46, e.g., “COUNT: 103/100” “EXCEEDS”). More specifically, in accordance with the example described above, status field 8226 corresponds to the modular adapter 8206 and indicates its current status as “COUNT: 103/100” and “EXCEEDS”. According to other aspects the status field 8226 of the interface 8200 may further show overage remaining, remaining capabilities, and/or compatibility with other connected modular components.

Again, according to one aspect the interface 8200 may comprise a cloud-based interface (see FIG. 45, e.g., 8104) accessible on a cloud-access terminal of the surgical hub (via at least one of a visualization system 108/208 (e.g., FIGS. 1-2) or a display 135/177 associated with the surgical hub 106 (e.g., FIGS. 1-3, 7, etc.)). According to another aspect, the interface 8200 may comprise only a portion(s) of the grid (e.g., the status field 8226, modular component field 8236, etc.) accessible directly on the physical modular adapter 8206 itself via a user interface positioned on the modular adapter 8206 and/or indirectly on the physical handle 8204 itself via a user interface positioned on the handle 8204. Further, in the context of a flexible system-defined constraint, the interface 8200 may visually indicate a warning associated with a modular component (e.g., warning indicator 8246, e.g., description of current status encircled and/or comprises a link 8256 (e.g., “B”) in association with status field 8226 of the interface 8200). In one aspect, the link 8256 (e.g., “B”) may key to a corresponding “Description of Problem” section of the interface 8200 (e.g., “B” “Modular Adapter EXCEEDS Suggested Life Limit”). In another aspect, the link 8256 (e.g., “B”) may be a hyperlink to present the corresponding description (e.g., “B” “Modular Adapter EXCEEDS Suggested Life Limit”) in the interface 8200. According to such aspects, a portion of the descriptive text (e.g., “EXCEEDS”), keyed/hyperlinked via link 8256, may be a hyperlink/button 8266. Upon/After selection of the hyperlink/button 8266 a warning interface 8276 may be presented in the interface 8200. According to another aspect, a portion of descriptive text (e.g., EXCEEDS) in status field 8226 may be a hyperlink/button 8286 to, upon/after selection, directly present the warning interface 8276 in the interface 8200. Such an aspect may be beneficial/more efficient if the interface 8200 is being presented via a (e.g., smaller) user interface of a modular component (e.g., modular adapter 8206 and/or handle 8204). Further, according to such aspects, the interface 8200 may be configured to present a warning that the modular adapter 8206 is approaching its overage threshold. In one aspect, the warning interface 8276 may instruct “NO INPUT NEEDED” and present a warning indicating that the overage threshold is being approached (e.g., “Approaching 10% Limit Warning”). In other aspects, the warning may indicate how many uses remain until the overage threshold is met (e.g., “7 Uses Until 10% Overage Limit Is Met”).

Next, in view of FIG. 46, an example system-defined constraint is applied (e.g., by the surgical hub 106 and/or the cloud-based analytics system) to the end effector 8208. Here, the end effector 8208 associated with identifier 8218 (e.g., SN1a) has a usage parameter of 5 (e.g., 7 uses under its suggested usable life metric of 12 uses remain). As such, in accordance with this example, the system-defined constraint is deemed satisfied and the end effector 8208 is rendered available/usable/authorized. In such an aspect, an interface 8200 may be displayed to show a current status of the end effector 8208 (see FIG. 46, e.g., “COUNT: 5/12”). More specifically, in accordance with the example described above, status field 8228 corresponds to the modular adapter 8208 and indicates its current status as “COUNT: 5/12”. According to other aspects the status field 8228 of the interface 8200 may further show usage remaining, remaining capabilities, and/or compatibility with other connected modular components.

Yet again, according to one aspect, the interface 8200 may comprise a cloud-based interface (see FIG. 45, e.g., 8104) accessible on a cloud-access terminal of the surgical hub (via at least one of a visualization system 108/208 (e.g., FIGS. 1-2) or a display 135/177 associated with the surgical hub 106 (e.g., FIGS. 1-3, 7, etc.)). According to another aspect, the interface 8200 may comprise only a portion(s) of the grid (e.g., the status field 8228, modular component field 8238, etc.) accessible directly on the physical end effector 8208 itself via a user interface positioned on the end effector 8208 and/or indirectly on the physical handle 8204 itself via a user interface positioned on the handle 8204. Here, since the system-defined constraint is satisfied, no warning interface and/or bypass interface is displayed.

Lastly, still in view of FIG. 46, an example critical system-defined constraint is applied (e.g., by the surgical hub 106 and/or the cloud-based analytics system) to the staple cartridge 8210. Here, identifier 8220 (e.g., SN121b), associated with the staple cartridge 8210, is not a system-recognizable identifier. According to one aspect, this may occur when the surgical hub 206 and/or the cloud-based analytics system (e.g., comprising cloud-based system 205) is unable to match an identifier (e.g., serial number) received from a modular component with identifiers (e.g., serial numbers) downloaded from the manufacturer(s) of the modular component(s). As such, continuing the example, the system-defined constraint is critical, the system-defined constraint is deemed not satisfied, and the staple cartridge 8210 is rendered unavailable/unusable/unauthorized. Further, as a result, since the critical system-defined constraint cannot be waived, any combined multi-component surgical tool comprising the staple cartridge 8210 may be similarly rendered unavailable/unusable/unauthorized. In such as aspect, an interface 8200 may be displayed to show a current status of the staple cartridge 8210 (see FIG. 46, e.g., “LOADED” “COUNTERFEIT”). More specifically, in accordance with the example described above, status field 8230 corresponds to the staple cartridge 8210 and indicates its current status as “LOADED” and “COUNTERFEIT”.

Yet again, according to one aspect, the interface 8200 may comprise a cloud-based interface (see FIG. 45, e.g., 8104) accessible on a cloud-access terminal of the surgical hub (via at least one of a visualization system 108/208 (e.g., FIGS. 1-2) or a display 135/177 associated with the surgical hub 106 (e.g., FIGS. 1-3, 7, etc.)). According to another aspect, the interface 8200 may comprise only a portion(s) of the grid (e.g., the status field 8230, modular component field 8240, etc.) accessible directly on the physical staple cartridge 8210 itself via a user interface positioned on the staple cartridge 8210 and/or indirectly on the physical handle 8204 itself via a user interface positioned on the handle 8204. Further, in the context of a critical system-defined constraint, the interface 8200 may visually indicate a warning associated with a modular component (e.g., warning indicator 8250, e.g., box associated with identifier 8220 highlighted and/or encircled and/or comprises a link 8260 (e.g., “C”) in association with modular component field 8240 of the interface 8200). In one aspect, the link 8260 (e.g., “C”) may key to a corresponding “Description of Problem” section of the interface 8200 (e.g., “C” “Serial Number of Cartridge Indicates COUNTERFEIT Cartridge”). In another aspect, the link 8260 (e.g., “C”) may be a hyperlink to present the corresponding description (e.g., “C” “Serial Number of Cartridge Indicates COUNTERFEIT Cartridge”) in the interface 8200. According to such aspects, a portion of the descriptive text (e.g., “COUNTERFEIT”), keyed/hyperlinked via link 8260, may be a hyperlink/button 8270. Upon/After selection of the hyperlink/button 8270 an action interface 8280 may be presented in the interface 8200. According to another aspect, a portion of descriptive text (e.g., COUNTERFEIT) in status field 8230 may be a hyperlink/button 8290 to, upon/after selection, directly present the action interface 8280 in the interface 8200. Such an aspect may be beneficial/more efficient if the interface 8200 is being presented via a (e.g., smaller) user interface of a modular component (e.g., staple cartridge 8210 and/or handle 8204). Further, according to such aspects, the interface 8200 may be configured to instruct a user to perform an action (e.g., to remove the staple cartridge 8210 associated with the identifier 8220 (e.g., SN121b) and reload with a staple cartridge associated with a system-recognizable identifier. In one aspect, the action interface 8280 may instruct “ACTION REQUIRED” and present a directive “Remove & Reload”. Here, since the system-defined constraint is critical, no warning interface and/or bypass interface is displayed. In one further aspect, a list of available and/or alternative modular components (e.g., staple cartridges) may be displayed.

In a similar manner, a list (e.g., black-listed devices) of surgical tools (e.g., wireless surgical devices/instruments 235) and/or modular components (e.g., handles, modular adapters, end effectors, staple cartridges, etc.) may be declared unavailable/unusable/unauthorized to communicate with and/or access the surgical hub 206 and/or cloud-based analytics system (e.g., comprising cloud-based system 205). In one aspect of the present disclosure, such black-listed devices may comprise inventory items that are known and/or established to be counterfeit, defective, damaged, beyond their usable life, expired, unsterile, etc. In such an aspect, black-listed devices may be used as critical system-defined constraints (e.g., if the device is on the “black-list,” it cannot communicate with and/or access the surgical hub and/or cloud-based analytics system). In line with above, critical system-defined constraints cannot be waived/bypassed. Creating and/or maintaining such a “black-list” of devices at the surgical hub level and/or the cloud-based analytics level, may improve safety and reliability in the operating room. In one aspect, a database (e.g., aggregated medical data database 7012 in FIG. 22) at the cloud-based analytics system may be updated each time a counterfeit device is detected via a surgical hub 206 (e.g., similar to the staple cartridge in FIG. 46). Since a plurality of surgical hubs associated with a plurality institutions may communicate with the cloud-based analytics system, such a database, and associated “black-list”, builds rather quickly. Such a database at the cloud-based analytics system would prevent a black-listed device from being used at a different surgical hub (e.g., a surgical hub other than the surgical hub at which the counterfeit was initially detected) communicatively coupled to the cloud-based analytics system.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, black-listed devices may include surgical tools (e.g., wireless surgical devices/instruments 235) and/or modular components (e.g., handles, modular adapters, end effectors, staple cartridges, etc.) developed by third-parties wishing to take advantage of benefits provided by the surgical hub and/or cloud-based analytics system (e.g., various inventory control aspects discussed herein). In such an aspect of the present disclosure, black-listed devices may be used as non-critical system-defined constraints and/or flexible system-defined constraints (e.g., if the device is on the “black-list,” it cannot communicate with and/or access the surgical hub and/or cloud-based analytics system). However, contrary to the previously disclosed aspect, such non-critical system-defined constraints and/or flexible system-defined constraints may be waived/bypassed. In one aspect of the present disclosure, such a black-listed device (e.g., a third-party device) may be granted access to the surgical hub and/or cloud-based analytics system for a fee. In one example a competitor product may be initially declared counterfeit. However, once an agreed upon fee is paid, that competitor product may be granted access to the surgical hub and/or cloud-based analytics system. In another aspect, such a black-listed device may be granted partial access to the surgical hub and/or cloud-based analytics system but may be subject to established secondary system-defined constraints. In another aspect, such a black-listed device may be granted access to the surgical hub and/or cloud-based analytics system but may not be able to fully function (e.g., limited functionality) when paired with the surgical hub. Similar to above, a database (e.g., aggregated medical data database 7012 in FIG. 22) at the cloud-based analytics system may be updated each time a previously black-listed device is granted access, partial access with secondary system-defined constraints and/or access with limited functionality. Since a plurality of surgical hubs associated with a plurality institutions may communicate with the cloud-based analytics system, such a database, and its associated access levels, can be implemented across all communicatively coupled surgical hubs. In all such aspects, the surgical hub and/or cloud-based analytics system maintains complete control over devices seeking access.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure a database of the surgical hub (see FIG. 10, e.g., 248/249) and/or a database (e.g., aggregated medical data database 7012 in FIG. 22) of the cloud-based analytics system may record each modular component and/or surgical tool identifier (e.g., serial number) in a “used identifier list” when first used in the system. As such, each time a new modular component and/or a new surgical tool is plugged in and/or requests communication with the surgical hub and/or cloud-based analytics system, an identifier of the new modular component and/or surgical tool is cross-checked with the “used identifier list.” In such an aspect, if the identifier of the new modular component and/or the new surgical tool matches an identifier already in the “used identifier list,” that identifier may be automatically placed on a “black-list” (e.g., critical system-defined constraint). Here, identifiers (e.g., serial numbers) should be unique. If an already used identifier is presented at first use multiple times, this may evidence fraud and/or counterfeit activity.

As discussed herein, various aspects of the present disclosure are directed to the application of system-defined constraints. For example, as discussed with reference to FIG. 46 above, each modular component of a surgical tool may be associated with an identifier and each identifier may be associated with one or more than one parameter (e.g., usage parameter, expiration date, flexible parameter, etc.). In another aspect of the present disclosure, a surgical tool may be associated with an identifier wherein that identifier is associated with one or more than one parameter. In such an aspect, either the surgical tool does not comprise modular components or the surgical tool comprises modular components associated with the same identifier (e.g., serial number, activation code). Here, system-defined constraints, as discussed herein, may be applied to such a surgical tool in a similar manner.

Further, as discussed herein, various aspects of the present disclosure pertain to the identification of reusable/reprocessed devices (e.g., modular components, surgical tools, etc.) and the display of each reusable device's availability/readiness for a next/proposed surgical procedure and its operational status on a screen other than the screen of the reusable device (e.g., a screen of a cloud-access terminal of the surgical hub). In one aspect of the present disclosure the status of each reusable device (e.g., status of each modular component, status of a surgical tool, and/or overall status of combined modular components and/or subassemblies) is queried and/or determined when the reusable device connects to the system or as the reusable device connects to the system (e.g., to the surgical hub and/or the cloud-based analytics system). In another aspect of the present disclosure, once/after the reusable device is used, the surgical hub and/or cloud-based analytics system time-stamps the use and updates the usage of each modular component and/or surgical tool in its respective database.

In further various aspects of the present disclosure, a modular component and/or a surgical tool may be flagged by the surgical hub and/or cloud based analytics system based on predetermined criteria. For example, if a modular component is incompatible with other modular components, its identifier (e.g., serial number) is known to be fake, and/or it is subject to a recall, a database of the surgical hub and/or the cloud-based analytics system may be updated to not allow use of the modular component and/or surgical tool in the system (e.g., creation of critical system-defined constraints). Such created system-defined constraints may be applied as discussed herein.

In yet further aspects of the present disclosure, a modular component and/or a surgical tool may be flagged by the surgical hub and/or cloud based analytics system based on a previous use. For example, the surgical hub and/or the cloud based analytics system may track performance of the modular component and/or the surgical tool. Here, performance results may be analyzed by the cloud-based analytics system to inform future uses of the modular component and/or surgical tool. For example, if the end effector did not clamp properly or jammed in a previous use, the end effector may be flagged in a database of the surgical hub and/or the cloud-based analytics system (e.g., black-listed) so that the end effector cannot be used again in the system.

Various aspects of the present disclosure are also directed to a cloud-based analytics system that generates a cloud interface for a client care institution. More specifically, aspects of the present disclosure pertain to a cloud-based system including a client care institution surgical hub coupleable with a plurality of inventory items (e.g., handles, modular adapters, end effectors, staple cartridges, etc.) and a cloud-based analytics system. The surgical hub may include a processor programmed to communicate with the plurality of inventory items and the cloud-based analytics system. The cloud-based analytics system may include a processor programmed to i) receive, via the surgical hub, data associated with the plurality of inventory items, wherein the received data comprises a unique identifier for each inventory item, ii) determine whether each inventory item is available for use based on its respective unique identifier and system-defined constraints, wherein the system-defined constraints comprise at least one use restriction, iii) generate a cloud interface for the institution, wherein the institution's cloud interface comprises a plurality of user-interface elements, wherein at least one user-interface element enables the institution to select one or more than one surgical procedure to be performed, and wherein after selection of a surgical procedure, via the at least one user-interface element, the availability of each inventory item associated with the selected surgical procedure is dynamically generated on the institution's cloud interface, and iv) display an alert for each inventory item determined as not available based on the system-defined constraints, wherein the alert is displayable on at least one of the institution's cloud interface or the inventory item. Here, in line with the disclosure herein, alternative inventory items for unavailable items may also be displayed. Such a cloud interface enables an institution to evaluate whether a desired/proposed surgical procedure can proceed based on current inventories. Here, data at the surgical hub level (e.g., historical local usage) and/or the cloud-based analytics system level (e.g., historical local and/or global usage) may be used to determine combinations of modular components and/or surgical tools usable for the surgical procedure selected via the user-interface element. Furthermore, alternative and/or preferred modular components and/or surgical tools may be recommended for the surgical procedure selected via the user-interface element. Such a recommendation (e.g., best practices) may be based on a statistical analysis of data at the surgical hub level and/or the cloud-based analytics system level. Such a recommendation may or may not be based on current inventory of the institution.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a modular component and/or surgical tool may be a single-use device rather than a reusable and/or reprocessed device. In such an aspect, packaging associated with the single-use device may include a one-time use activation code. In such an aspect, the one-time use activation code may be entered into an activation input field on a cloud interface via the cloud-access terminal of the surgical hub and transmitted to the cloud-based analytics system. Here, upon receipt, the cloud-based analytics system may cross-check the one-time use activation code with a database of one-time use activation codes (e.g., downloaded from a manufacturer) to authorize use with the system. If the one-time use activation code matches an unused activation code, the modular component and/or surgical tool is authorized. However, if the one-time use activation code does not match an activation code in the database or the one-time use activation code matches an already used activation code, that one-time use activation code may be placed on a black-list such that the single-use modular component and/or surgical tool is not authorized (e.g., critical system-defined constraint).

Situational Awareness

Situational awareness is the ability of some aspects of a surgical system to determine or infer information related to a surgical procedure from data received from databases and/or instruments. The information can include the type of procedure being undertaken, the type of tissue being operated on, or the body cavity that is the subject of the procedure. With the contextual information related to the surgical procedure, the surgical system can, for example, improve the manner in which it controls the modular devices (e.g., a robotic arm and/or robotic surgical tool) that are connected to it and provide contextualized information or suggestions to the surgeon during the course of the surgical procedure.

FIG. 47 illustrates a timeline 5200 of an illustrative surgical procedure and the contextual information that a surgical hub 5104 can derive from the data received from the data sources 5126 at each step in the surgical procedure. In the following description of the timeline 5200 illustrated in FIG. 47, reference should also be made to FIG. 81. The timeline 5200 depicts the typical steps that would be taken by the nurses, surgeons, and other medical personnel during the course of a lung segmentectomy procedure, beginning with setting up the operating theater and ending with transferring the patient to a post-operative recovery room. The situationally aware surgical hub 5104 receives data from the data sources 5126 throughout the course of the surgical procedure, including data generated each time medical personnel utilize a modular device 5102 that is paired with the surgical hub 5104. The surgical hub 5104 can receive this data from the paired modular devices 5102 and other data sources 5126 and continually derive inferences (i.e., contextual information) about the ongoing procedure as new data is received, such as which step of the procedure is being performed at any given time. The situational awareness system of the surgical hub 5104 is able to, for example, record data pertaining to the procedure for generating reports, verify the steps being taken by the medical personnel, provide data or prompts (e.g., via a display screen) that may be pertinent for the particular procedural step, adjust modular devices 5102 based on the context (e.g., activate monitors, adjust the FOV of the medical imaging device, or change the energy level of an ultrasonic surgical instrument or RF electrosurgical instrument), and take any other such action described above.

As the first step S202 in this illustrative procedure, the hospital staff members retrieve the patient's EMR from the hospital's EMR database. Based on select patient data in the EMR, the surgical hub 5104 determines that the procedure to be performed is a thoracic procedure. Second 5204, the staff members scan the incoming medical supplies for the procedure. The surgical hub 5104 cross-references the scanned supplies with a list of supplies that are utilized in various types of procedures and confirms that the mix of supplies corresponds to a thoracic procedure (e.g., as depicted in FIG. 85B). Further, the surgical hub 5104 is also able to determine that the procedure is not a wedge procedure (because the incoming supplies either lack certain supplies that are necessary for a thoracic wedge procedure or do not otherwise correspond to a thoracic wedge procedure). Third 5206, the medical personnel scan the patient band (e.g., as depicted in FIG. 85A) via a scanner 5128 that is communicably connected to the surgical hub 5104. The surgical hub 5104 can then confirm the patient's identity based on the scanned data. Fourth 5208, the medical staff turns on the auxiliary equipment. The auxiliary equipment being utilized can vary according to the type of surgical procedure and the techniques to be used by the surgeon, but in this illustrative case they include a smoke evacuator, insufflator, and medical imaging device. When activated, the auxiliary equipment that are modular devices 5102 can automatically pair with the surgical hub 5104 that is located within a particular vicinity of the modular devices 5102 as part of their initialization process. The surgical hub 5104 can then derive contextual information about the surgical procedure by detecting the types of modular devices 5102 that pair with it during this pre-operative or initialization phase. In this particular example, the surgical hub 5104 determines that the surgical procedure is a VATS procedure based on this particular combination of paired modular devices 5102. Based on the combination of the data from the patient's EMR, the list of medical supplies to be used in the procedure, and the type of modular devices 5102 that connect to the hub, the surgical hub 5104 can generally infer the specific procedure that the surgical team will be performing. Once the surgical hub 5104 knows what specific procedure is being performed, the surgical hub 5104 can then retrieve the steps of that procedure from a memory or from the cloud and then cross-reference the data it subsequently receives from the connected data sources 5126 (e.g., modular devices 5102 and patient monitoring devices 5124) to infer what step of the surgical procedure the surgical team is performing. Fifth 5210, the staff members attach the EKG electrodes and other patient monitoring devices 5124 to the patient. The EKG electrodes and other patient monitoring devices 5124 are able to pair with the surgical hub 5104. As the surgical hub 5104 begins receiving data from the patient monitoring devices 5124, the surgical hub 5104 thus confirms that the patient is in the operating theater, as described in the process 5207 depicted in FIG. 84I, for example. Sixth 5212, the medical personnel induce anesthesia in the patient. The surgical hub 5104 can infer that the patient is under anesthesia based on data from the modular devices 5102 and/or patient monitoring devices 5124, including EKG data, blood pressure data, ventilator data, or combinations thereof, as described in the process 5191 depicted in FIG. 84H, for example. Upon completion of the sixth step S212, the pre-operative portion of the lung segmentectomy procedure is completed and the operative portion begins.

Seventh 5214, the patient's lung that is being operated on is collapsed (while ventilation is switched to the contralateral lung). The surgical hub 5104 can infer from the ventilator data that the patient's lung has been collapsed, as described in the process 5221 depicted in FIG. 84J, for example. The surgical hub 5104 can infer that the operative portion of the procedure has commenced as it can compare the detection of the patient's lung collapsing to the expected steps of the procedure (which can be accessed or retrieved previously) and thereby determine that collapsing the lung is the first operative step in this particular procedure. Eighth 5216, the medical imaging device 5108 (e.g., a scope) is inserted and video from the medical imaging device is initiated. The surgical hub 5104 receives the medical imaging device data (i.e., video or image data) through its connection to the medical imaging device. Upon receipt of the medical imaging device data, the surgical hub 5104 can determine that the laparoscopic portion of the surgical procedure has commenced. Further, the surgical hub 5104 can determine that the particular procedure being performed is a segmentectomy, as opposed to a lobectomy (note that a wedge procedure has already been discounted by the surgical hub 5104 based on data received at the second step 5204 of the procedure). The data from the medical imaging device 124 (FIG. 2) can be utilized to determine contextual information regarding the type of procedure being performed in a number of different ways, including by determining the angle at which the medical imaging device is oriented with respect to the visualization of the patient's anatomy, monitoring the number or medical imaging devices being utilized (i.e., that are activated and paired with the surgical hub 5104), and monitoring the types of visualization devices utilized. For example, one technique for performing a VATS lobectomy places the camera in the lower anterior corner of the patient's chest cavity above the diaphragm, whereas one technique for performing a VATS segmentectomy places the camera in an anterior intercostal position relative to the segmental fissure. Using pattern recognition or machine learning techniques, for example, the situational awareness system can be trained to recognize the positioning of the medical imaging device according to the visualization of the patient's anatomy. As another example, one technique for performing a VATS lobectomy utilizes a single medical imaging device, whereas another technique for performing a VATS segmentectomy utilizes multiple cameras. As yet another example, one technique for performing a VATS segmentectomy utilizes an infrared light source (which can be communicably coupled to the surgical hub as part of the visualization system) to visualize the segmental fissure, which is not utilized in a VATS lobectomy. By tracking any or all of this data from the medical imaging device 5108, the surgical hub 5104 can thereby determine the specific type of surgical procedure being performed and/or the technique being used for a particular type of surgical procedure.

Ninth 5218, the surgical team begins the dissection step of the procedure. The surgical hub 5104 can infer that the surgeon is in the process of dissecting to mobilize the patient's lung because it receives data from the RF or ultrasonic generator indicating that an energy instrument is being fired. The surgical hub 5104 can cross-reference the received data with the retrieved steps of the surgical procedure to determine that an energy instrument being fired at this point in the process (i.e., after the completion of the previously discussed steps of the procedure) corresponds to the dissection step. Tenth 5220, the surgical team proceeds to the ligation step of the procedure. The surgical hub 5104 can infer that the surgeon is ligating arteries and veins because it receives data from the surgical stapling and cutting instrument indicating that the instrument is being fired. Similarly to the prior step, the surgical hub 5104 can derive this inference by cross-referencing the receipt of data from the surgical stapling and cutting instrument with the retrieved steps in the process. Eleventh 5222, the segmentectomy portion of the procedure is performed. The surgical hub 5104 can infer that the surgeon is transecting the parenchyma based on data from the surgical stapling and cutting instrument, including data from its cartridge. The cartridge data can correspond to the size or type of staple being fired by the instrument, for example. As different types of staples are utilized for different types of tissues, the cartridge data can thus indicate the type of tissue being stapled and/or transected. In this case, the type of staple being fired is utilized for parenchyma (or other similar tissue types), which allows the surgical hub 5104 to infer that the segmentectomy portion of the procedure is being performed. Twelfth 5224, the node dissection step is then performed. The surgical hub 5104 can infer that the surgical team is dissecting the node and performing a leak test based on data received from the generator indicating that an RF or ultrasonic instrument is being fired. For this particular procedure, an RF or ultrasonic instrument being utilized after parenchyma was transected corresponds to the node dissection step, which allows the surgical hub 5104 to make this inference. It should be noted that surgeons regularly switch back and forth between surgical stapling/cutting instruments and surgical energy (i.e., RF or ultrasonic) instruments depending upon the particular step in the procedure because different instruments are better adapted for particular tasks. Therefore, the particular sequence in which the stapling/cutting instruments and surgical energy instruments are used can indicate what step of the procedure the surgeon is performing. Upon completion of the twelfth step 5224, the incisions and closed up and the post-operative portion of the procedure begins.

Thirteenth 5226, the patient's anesthesia is reversed. The surgical hub 5104 can infer that the patient is emerging from the anesthesia based on the ventilator data (i.e., the patient's breathing rate begins increasing), for example. Lastly, the fourteenth step S228 is that the medical personnel remove the various patient monitoring devices 5124 from the patient. The surgical hub 5104 can thus infer that the patient is being transferred to a recovery room when the hub loses EKG, BP, and other data from the patient monitoring devices 5124. As can be seen from the description of this illustrative procedure, the surgical hub 5104 can determine or infer when each step of a given surgical procedure is taking place according to data received from the various data sources 5126 that are communicably coupled to the surgical hub 5104.

EXAMPLES

Various aspects of the subject matter described herein are set out in the following numbered examples:

Example 1

A method of improving an operational parameter of a surgical system using data analytics, the method comprising: transmitting, from each of a plurality of surgical hubs of the surgical system, operational data of a plurality of surgical instruments communicatively coupled to the plurality of surgical hubs, to a cloud computing system of the surgical system; aggregating, by the cloud computing system, the operational data into aggregate medical resource data; analyzing, by the cloud computing system, the aggregate medical resource data to determine a recommendation to change the operational parameter based on the analyzed aggregate medical resource data, wherein the aggregate medical resource data comprises one or more of usage data, patient derived parameter data, surgical performance data, and surgical outcome data; receiving, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation from the cloud computing system; and displaying, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation.

Example 2

The method of claim 1, wherein the recommendation comprises changing a type of staple to be used by the plurality of surgical instruments.

Example 3

The method of any one of Examples 1-2, further comprising: determining, by the cloud computing system, an estimated cost of a surgical procedure based on the analyzed aggregate medical resource data, wherein the recommendation comprises a recommended surgical instrument of the plurality of surgical instruments to perform the surgical procedure.

Example 4

The method of any one of Examples 1-3, further comprising: detecting, by the cloud computing system, an irregularity in a configuration of the surgical system; and generating, by the cloud computing system, an alert based on the detected irregularity, indicating that a selected surgical instrument of the plurality of surgical instruments is incompatible with a surgical procedure being performed.

Example 5

The method of any one of Examples 1-4, further comprising: performing, by the cloud computing system, statistical analysis on the aggregate medical resource data to determine a flaw in a subset of the plurality of surgical instruments.

Example 6

The method of any one of Examples 1-5, wherein the flaw comprises a local outlier corresponding to the subset of the plurality of surgical instruments.

Example 7

The method of any one of Examples 1-6, further comprising: determining, by the cloud computing system, an adjustment to post-operative care based on the analysis of the aggregate medical resource data.

Example 8

The method of any one of Examples 1-7, wherein the aggregate medical resource data comprises surgical outcome data and wherein the recommendation comprises a recommended type of component to use with a surgical instrument of the plurality of surgical instruments.

Example 9

A method of controlling a surgical system using data analytics, the method comprising: transmitting, from each of a plurality of surgical hubs of the surgical system, operational data of a plurality of surgical instruments communicatively coupled to the plurality of surgical hubs to a cloud computing system of the surgical system; aggregating, by the cloud computing system, the operational data into aggregate medical resource data; analyzing, by the cloud computing system, the aggregate medical resource data, wherein the aggregate medical resource data comprises one or more of usage data, patient derived parameter data, surgical performance data, and surgical outcome data; generating, by the cloud computing system, an update to a control program executed by one or more of the plurality of surgical hubs and the plurality of surgical instruments based on the analyzed aggregated medical resource data; and receiving, by one or more of the plurality of surgical hubs and the plurality of surgical instruments, the update to the control program.

Example 10

The method of Example 9, wherein the aggregate medical resource data comprises patient derived parameter data and the patient derived parameter data comprises a tissue parameter.

Example 11

The method of any one of Examples 9-10, further comprising: comparing, by the cloud computing system, the aggregate medical resource data to a predetermined threshold, wherein the aggregate medical resource data comprises surgical outcome data; and determining, by the cloud computing system, a performance level of the plurality of surgical instruments executing the control program.

Example 12

The method of Example 11, wherein: the surgical outcome data comprises a rate of positive surgical outcomes; comparing the aggregate medical resource data to the predetermined threshold comprises comparing the rate of positive surgical outcomes to the predetermined threshold.

Example 13

The method of Example 11, wherein the update to the control program is generated based on the determined performance level.

Example 14

The method of any one of Examples 9-13, wherein the update to the control program specifies a wait time during performance of surgical procedures by the plurality of surgical instruments.

Example 15

The method of any one of Examples 9-14, wherein the update to the control program controls operations of the plurality of surgical hubs.

Example 16

A method of controlling a surgical system using data analytics, the method comprising: transmitting, from each of a plurality of surgical hubs of the surgical system, operational data of a plurality of surgical instruments communicatively coupled to the plurality of surgical hubs to a cloud computing system of the surgical system; aggregating, by the cloud computing system, the operational data into aggregate medical resource data; determining, by the cloud computing system, a level of criticality of the aggregate medical resource data; analyzing, by the cloud computing system, the aggregate medical resource data to determine a recommended action based on the analyzed aggregate medical resource data and the level of criticality; determining, a priority of the recommended action based on the level of criticality; receiving, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation from the cloud computing system; and displaying, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation.

Example 17

The method of Example 16, wherein the level of criticality is determined based on one or more of severity, deviation from an expected result, and suspiciousness.

Example 18

The method of any one of Examples 16-17, further comprising: determining, by the cloud computing system, a security breach based on the analyzed aggregate medical resource data.

Example 19

The method of Example 18, further comprising: determining, by the cloud computing system, a subset of the plurality of surgical instruments that are impacted by the security breach.

Example 20

The method of Example 19, further comprising: transmitting, by the cloud computing system, a signal indicating the subset to the plurality of surgical hubs; and preventing, by the plurality of surgical hubs, operation of the surgical instruments corresponding to the subset.

Various additional aspects of the subject matter described herein are set out in the following numbered examples:

Example 1

An analytics system configured to communicably couple to a surgical hub, the surgical hub configured to communicable couple to a modular device that is controlled by a control program, the analytics system comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the analytics system to: receive perioperative data indicative of an operational behavior of the modular device, wherein the perioperative data comprises data detected by the modular device during a surgical procedure; receive procedural outcome data associated with the surgical procedure; analyze the perioperative data and the procedural outcome data to determine whether the operational behavior is suboptimal; generate a control program update configured to alter the manner in which the control program operates the modular device during the surgical procedure for the operational behavior; and transmit the control program update to the modular device.

Example 2

The analytics system of Example 1, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the analytics system to determine whether the operational behavior is suboptimal according to whether the operational behavior correlates to a negative procedural outcome.

Example 3

The analytics system of any one of Examples 1-2, wherein: the operational behavior is a first operational behavior; the perioperative data is further indicative of a second operational behavior; and the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the analytics system to determine whether the first operational behavior is suboptimal according to whether the second operational behavior is more highly correlated to a positive procedural outcome than the first operational behavior.

Example 4

The analytics system of any one of Examples 1-3, wherein the control program update is configured to provide an alert associated with the operational behavior.

Example 5

The analytics system of any one of Examples 1-4, wherein the control program update is configured to change a manually controlled function to a function controlled by the control program.

Example 6

The analytics system of any one of Examples 1-5, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the analytics system to receive the procedural outcome data from an EMR database.

Example 7

The analytics system of any one of Examples 1-6, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the analytics system to receive the procedural outcome data from the surgical hub.

Example 8

An analytics system configured to communicably couple to a surgical hub, the surgical hub configured to communicable couple to a modular device that is controlled by a control program, the analytics system comprising: a control circuit configured to: receive perioperative data indicative of an operational behavior of the modular device, wherein the perioperative data comprises data detected by the modular device during a surgical procedure; receive procedural outcome data associated with the surgical procedure; analyze the perioperative data and the procedural outcome data to determine whether the operational behavior is suboptimal; generate a control program update configured to alter the manner in which the control program operates the modular device during the surgical procedure for the operational behavior; and transmit the control program update to the modular device.

Example 9

The analytics system of Example 8, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine whether the operational behavior is suboptimal according to whether the operational behavior correlates to a negative procedural outcome.

Example 10

The analytics system of any one of Examples 8-9, wherein: the operational behavior is a first operational behavior; the perioperative data is further indicative of a second operational behavior; and the control circuit is configured to determine whether the first operational behavior is suboptimal according to whether the second operational behavior is more highly correlated to a positive procedural outcome than the first operational behavior.

Example 11

The analytics system of any one of Examples 8-10, wherein the control program update is configured to provide an alert associated with the operational behavior.

Example 12

The analytics system of any one of Examples 8-11, wherein the control program update is configured to change a manually controlled function to a function controlled by the control program.

Example 13

The analytics system of any one of Examples 8-12, wherein the control circuit is configured to cause the analytics system to receive the procedural outcome data from an EMR database.

Example 14

The analytics system of any one of Examples 8-13, wherein the control circuit is configured to cause the analytics system to receive the procedural outcome data from the surgical hub.

Example 15

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions which, when executed, causes an analytics system configured to communicably couple to a surgical hub, the surgical hub configured to communicable couple to a modular device that is controlled by a control program, to: receive perioperative data indicative of an operational behavior of the modular device, wherein the perioperative data comprises data detected by the modular device during a surgical procedure; receive procedural outcome data associated with the surgical procedure; analyze the perioperative data and the procedural outcome data to determine whether the operational behavior is suboptimal; generate a control program update configured to alter the manner in which the control program operates the modular device during the surgical procedure for the operational behavior; and transmit the control program update to the modular device.

Example 16

The non-transitory computer readable medium of Example 15, wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that cause the analytics system to determine whether the operational behavior is suboptimal according to whether the operational behavior correlates to a negative procedural outcome.

Example 17

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-16, wherein: the operational behavior is a first operational behavior; the perioperative data is further indicative of a second operational behavior; and the non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that cause the analytics system to determine whether the first operational behavior is suboptimal according to whether the second operational behavior is more highly correlated to a positive procedural outcome than the first operational behavior.

Example 18

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-17, wherein the control program update is configured to provide an alert associated with the operational behavior.

Example 19

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-18, wherein the control program update is configured to change a manually controlled function to a function controlled by the control program.

Example 20

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-19, wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that cause the analytics system to receive the procedural outcome data from an EMR database.

Example 21

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-20, wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that cause the analytics system to receive the procedural outcome data from the surgical hub.

Various additional aspects of the subject matter described herein are set out in the following numbered examples:

Example 1

An analytics system configured to communicably couple to a surgical hub, the surgical hub configured to communicable couple to a modular device that is controlled by a control program, the analytics system comprising: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the analytics system to: receive perioperative data indicative of an operational behavior of the modular device, wherein the perioperative data comprises data detected by the modular device during a surgical procedure; receive procedural outcome data associated with the surgical procedure; analyze the perioperative data and the procedural outcome data to determine whether the operational behavior is suboptimal; generate a control program update configured to alter the manner in which the control program operates the modular device during the surgical procedure for the operational behavior; and transmit the control program update to the modular device.

Example 2

The analytics system of Example 1, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the analytics system to determine whether the operational behavior is suboptimal according to whether the operational behavior correlates to a negative procedural outcome.

Example 3

The analytics system of any one of Examples 1-2, wherein: the operational behavior is a first operational behavior; the perioperative data is further indicative of a second operational behavior; and the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the analytics system to determine whether the first operational behavior is suboptimal according to whether the second operational behavior is more highly correlated to a positive procedural outcome than the first operational behavior.

Example 4

The analytics system of any one of Examples 1-3, wherein the control program update is configured to provide an alert associated with the operational behavior.

Example 5

The analytics system of any one of Examples 1-4, wherein the control program update is configured to change a manually controlled function to a function controlled by the control program.

Example 6

The analytics system of any one of Examples 1-5, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the analytics system to receive the procedural outcome data from an EMR database.

Example 7

The analytics system of any one of Examples 1-6, wherein the memory stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the analytics system to receive the procedural outcome data from the surgical hub.

Example 8

An analytics system configured to communicably couple to a surgical hub, the surgical hub configured to communicable couple to a modular device that is controlled by a control program, the analytics system comprising: a control circuit configured to: receive perioperative data indicative of an operational behavior of the modular device, wherein the perioperative data comprises data detected by the modular device during a surgical procedure; receive procedural outcome data associated with the surgical procedure; analyze the perioperative data and the procedural outcome data to determine whether the operational behavior is suboptimal; generate a control program update configured to alter the manner in which the control program operates the modular device during the surgical procedure for the operational behavior; and transmit the control program update to the modular device.

Example 9

The analytics system of Example 8, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine whether the operational behavior is suboptimal according to whether the operational behavior correlates to a negative procedural outcome.

Example 10

The analytics system of any one of Examples 8-9, wherein: the operational behavior is a first operational behavior; the perioperative data is further indicative of a second operational behavior; and the control circuit is configured to determine whether the first operational behavior is suboptimal according to whether the second operational behavior is more highly correlated to a positive procedural outcome than the first operational behavior.

Example 11

The analytics system of any one of Examples 8-10, wherein the control program update is configured to provide an alert associated with the operational behavior.

Example 12

The analytics system of any one of Examples 8-11, wherein the control program update is configured to change a manually controlled function to a function controlled by the control program.

Example 13

The analytics system of any one of Examples 8-12, wherein the control circuit is configured to cause the analytics system to receive the procedural outcome data from an EMR database.

Example 14

The analytics system of any one of Examples 8-13, wherein the control circuit is configured to cause the analytics system to receive the procedural outcome data from the surgical hub.

Example 15

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions which, when executed, causes an analytics system configured to communicably couple to a surgical hub, the surgical hub configured to communicable couple to a modular device that is controlled by a control program, to: receive perioperative data indicative of an operational behavior of the modular device, wherein the perioperative data comprises data detected by the modular device during a surgical procedure; receive procedural outcome data associated with the surgical procedure; analyze the perioperative data and the procedural outcome data to determine whether the operational behavior is suboptimal; generate a control program update configured to alter the manner in which the control program operates the modular device during the surgical procedure for the operational behavior; and transmit the control program update to the modular device.

Example 16

The non-transitory computer readable medium of Example 15, wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that cause the analytics system to determine whether the operational behavior is suboptimal according to whether the operational behavior correlates to a negative procedural outcome.

Example 17

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-16, wherein: the operational behavior is a first operational behavior; the perioperative data is further indicative of a second operational behavior; and the non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that cause the analytics system to determine whether the first operational behavior is suboptimal according to whether the second operational behavior is more highly correlated to a positive procedural outcome than the first operational behavior.

Example 18

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-17, wherein the control program update is configured to provide an alert associated with the operational behavior.

Example 19

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-18, wherein the control program update is configured to change a manually controlled function to a function controlled by the control program.

Example 20

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-19, wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that cause the analytics system to receive the procedural outcome data from an EMR database.

Example 21

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-20, wherein the non-transitory computer readable medium stores instructions that cause the analytics system to receive the procedural outcome data from the surgical hub.

Various additional aspects of the subject matter described herein are set out in the following numbered examples:

Example 1

A cloud based analytics medical system comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory communicatively coupled to the processor; an input/output interface configured for accessing data from a plurality of medical hub communication devices, each communicatively coupled to at least one surgical instrument; and a database residing in the at least one memory and configured to store the data; the at least one memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to: aggregate medical resource usage data from the plurality of medical hubs, the medical resource usage data comprising: data pertaining to medical products and an indication of efficiency based on their usage; disposal records of when the medical products were disposed of; and for each description of the medical product: location data describing which medical facility said medical product was allocated to; and outcome data pertaining to an outcome of a patient from a procedure that utilized the medical product; determine a correlation between positive outcomes from the outcome data and location data of the medical product; generate a medical recommendation to change a medical resource usage practice based on the correlation; and display the medical recommendation to at least one medical hub at the local facility.

Example 2

The cloud based analytics medical system of Example 1, wherein the disposal records are derived at least in part from disposal bins configured to automatically record an amount of medical products disposed into the bins.

Example 3

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-2, wherein the outcome data is derived at least in part from operational data transmitted by a medical device used during the procedure.

Example 4

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-3, wherein the operational data includes a recordation by the medical device of a number of staple firings that were fired by the medical device during the procedure.

Example 5

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-4, wherein the recommendation comprises a recommendation to substitute use of a first medical product for user of a second medical product during a specific medical procedure.

Example 6

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-5, wherein the recommendation comprises a recommendation to reduce a number of staple firings that are fired by a medical device during a specific medical procedure.

Example 7

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-6, wherein the recommendation comprises a recommendation to reduce a rate of use of the medical product during a specific medical procedure.

Example 8

A method of a cloud based analytics medical system for improving efficiency in a medical environment, the method comprising: aggregating, by the cloud based analytics system, medical resource usage data from a plurality of medical hubs located in different medical facility locations, each communicatively coupled to the cloud based analytics system, the medical resource usage data comprising: data pertaining to medical products and an indication of efficiency based on their usage; disposal records of when the medical products were disposed of; and for each description of the medical product: location data describing which medical facility said medical product was allocated to; and outcome data pertaining to an outcome of a patient from a procedure that utilized the medical product; determining, by the cloud based analytics medical system, a correlation between positive outcomes from the outcome data and location data of the medical product; generating, by the cloud based analytics medical system, a medical recommendation to change a medical resource usage practice based on the correlation; and causing display in at least one of the medical hubs, by the cloud based analytics medical system, the medical recommendation.

Example 9

The method of Example 8, wherein the disposal records are derived at least in part from disposal bins configured to automatically record an amount of medical products disposed into the bins.

Example 10

The method of any one of Examples 8-9, wherein the outcome data is derived at least in part from operational data transmitted by a medical device used during the procedure.

Example 11

The method of any one of Examples 8-10, wherein the operational data includes a recordation by the medical device of a number of staple firings that were fired by the medical device during the procedure.

Example 12

The method of any one of Examples 8-11, wherein the recommendation comprises a recommendation to substitute use of a first medical product for user of a second medical product during a specific medical procedure.

Example 13

The method of any one of Examples 8-12, wherein the recommendation comprises a recommendation to reduce a number of staple firings that are fired by a medical device during a specific medical procedure.

Example 14

The method of any one of Examples 8-13, wherein the recommendation comprises a recommendation to reduce a rate of use of the medical product during a specific medical procedure.

Example 15

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions executable by the at least one processor of a cloud-based analytics system to: aggregate medical resource usage data from a plurality of medical hubs located in different medical facility locations, each communicatively coupled to a cloud based analytics system, the medical resource usage data comprising: data pertaining to medical products and an indication of efficiency based on their usage; disposal records of when the medical products were disposed of; and for each description of the medical product: location data describing which medical facility said medical product was allocated to; and outcome data pertaining to an outcome of a patient from a procedure that utilized the medical product; determine a correlation between positive outcomes from the outcome data and location data of the medical product; generate a medical recommendation to change a medical resource usage practice based on the correlation; and cause display of the medical recommendation to at least one medical hub at a local facility.

Example 16

The non-transitory computer readable medium of Example 15, wherein the disposal records are derived at least in part from disposal bins configured to automatically record an amount of medical products disposed into the bins.

Example 17

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-16, wherein the outcome data is derived at least in part from operational data transmitted by a medical device used during the procedure.

Example 18

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-17, wherein the operational data includes a recordation by the medical device of a number of staple firings that were fired by the medical device during the procedure.

Example 19

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-18, wherein the recommendation comprises a recommendation to substitute use of a first medical product for user of a second medical product during a specific medical procedure.

Example 20

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-19, wherein the recommendation comprises a recommendation to reduce a number of staple firings that are fired by a medical device during a specific medical procedure.

Various additional aspects of the subject matter described herein are set out in the following numbered examples:

Example 1

A cloud-based analytics medical system comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; an input/output interface configured for accessing data from a plurality of medical hub communication devices, each communicatively coupled to at least one surgical instrument; and a database residing in the at least one memory and configured to store the data; the at least one memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to: aggregate patient outcome data from the plurality of medical hubs, the patient outcome data comprising: data pertaining to steps performed and corresponding timings for each step in patient procedures; data pertaining to an outcome of each patient procedure performed; data pertaining to medical resources used in the patient procedures; for each data item pertaining to the medical resource: location data describing which medical facility said medical resource was allocated to; and for each data item pertaining to the outcome of the patient procedure: data pertaining to an indication of whether the outcome was a success or failure; aggregate medical resource acquisition data from the plurality of medical hubs; determine a correlation between positive outcomes from the patient outcome data and the resource acquisition data; generate a medical recommendation to change a medical resource acquisition practice based on the correlation; and cause display of the medical recommendation to a plurality of medical hubs located at different medical facilities.

Example 2

The cloud based analytics medical system of Example 1, wherein the at least one memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to: evaluate the patient outcome data and the resource acquisition data of a particular medical facility; determine that a level of performance of the particular medical facility is below average compared to other medical facilities, based on a comparison of the evaluated patient outcome data and the resource acquisition data of the particular medical facility to the aggregated patient outcome data; and generate a localized recommendation to change a practice of the particular medical facility.

Example 3

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-2, wherein the localized recommendation comprises instructions to revise a medical procedure to account for a surgeon level of experience.

Example 4

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-3, wherein the localized recommendation comprises instructions to revise resource inventory management to reduce inventory of a first product and increase inventory of a second product.

Example 5

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-4, wherein the at least one memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to: evaluate the patient outcome data and the resource acquisition data of medical facilities belonging to a geographical region; determine that a level of performance of the medical facilities in the geographical region is below average compared to a global average of medical facilities, based on a comparison of the evaluated patient outcome data and the resource acquisition data of the medical facilities in the geographical region to the aggregated patient outcome data; and generate a regionalized recommendation to change a practice of the medical facilities belonging to the geographical region.

Example 6

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-5, wherein the at least one memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to: perform trending analysis indicating an expected change in demographics of a population; and generate a predictive modeling recommendation indicating an instruction to change a medical procedure or inventory of one or more medical products over a period of time, to address the expected change in demographics, based on the trending analysis.

Example 7

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-6, wherein the at least one memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to: compare performance metrics of a first method for conducting a medical procedure with performance metrics of a second method for conducting the same medical procedure; and generate a predictive modeling recommendation indicating an instruction to perform the first method for conducting the medical procedure based on the performance comparison.

Example 8

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions executable by the at least one processor of a cloud-based analytics system to: aggregate patient outcome data from the plurality of medical hubs, the patient outcome data comprising: data pertaining to steps performed and corresponding timings for each step in patient procedures; data pertaining to an outcome of each patient procedure performed; data pertaining to medical resources used in the patient procedures; for each data item pertaining to the medical resource: location data describing which medical facility said medical resource was allocated to; and for each data item pertaining to the outcome of the patient procedure: data pertaining to an indication of whether the outcome was a success or failure; aggregate medical resource acquisition data from the plurality of medical hubs; determine a correlation between positive outcomes from the patient outcome data and the resource acquisition data; generate a medical recommendation to change a medical resource acquisition practice based on the correlation; and cause display of the medical recommendation to a plurality of medical hubs located at different medical facilities.

Example 9

The non-transitory computer readable medium of Example 8, wherein the instructions are further executable to: evaluate the patient outcome data and the resource acquisition data of a particular medical facility; determine that a level of performance of the particular medical facility is below average compared to other medical facilities, based on a comparison of the evaluated patient outcome data and the resource acquisition data of the particular medical facility to the aggregated patient outcome data; and generate a localized recommendation to change a practice of the particular medical facility.

Example 10

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 8-9, wherein the localized recommendation comprises instructions to revise a medical procedure to account for a surgeon level of experience.

Example 11

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 8-10, wherein the localized recommendation comprises instructions to revise resource inventory management to reduce inventory of a first product and increase inventory of a second product.

Example 12

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 8-11, wherein the instructions are further executable to: evaluate the patient outcome data and the resource acquisition data of medical facilities belonging to a geographical region; determine that a level of performance of the medical facilities in the geographical region is below average compared to a global average of medical facilities, based on a comparison of the evaluated patient outcome data and the resource acquisition data of the medical facilities in the geographical region to the aggregated patient outcome data; and generate a regionalized recommendation to change a practice of the medical facilities belonging to the geographical region.

Example 13

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 8-12, wherein the instructions are further configured to: perform trending analysis indicating an expected change in demographics of a population; and generate a predictive modeling recommendation indicating an instruction to change a medical procedure or inventory of one or more medical products over a period of time, to address the expected change in demographics, based on the trending analysis.

Example 14

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 8-13, wherein the instructions are further configured to: compare performance metrics of a first method for conducting a medical procedure with performance metrics of a second method for conducting the same medical procedure; and generate a predictive modeling recommendation indicating an instruction to perform the first method for conducting the medical procedure based on the performance comparison.

Example 15

A cloud based analytics medical system comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; an input/output interface configured for accessing data from a plurality of medical hub communication devices, each communicatively coupled to at least one surgical instrument; and a database residing in the at least one memory and configured to store the data; wherein the at least one memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to: aggregate medical instrument data from the plurality of medical hubs, the medical instrument data comprising: data pertaining to physical and performance parameters of medical devices; for each datum pertaining to the medical device: usage data pertaining to medical procedures that utilized the medical device; and for each medical procedure; an outcome of the medical procedure; and a status of the condition of the medical device during the medical procedure; determine a correlation between outcomes of the medical procedures and the statuses of the conditions of the medical devices utilized in the respective medical procedures; access live medical procedure data for a live medical procedure, the live medical procedure data comprising a description of the medical devices present in an operating room that is performing the live medical procedure; determine an irregularity in the description of the medical devices present in the live medical procedure, based on the determined correlation between the outcomes and the medical devices utilized; and provide an alert to a medical communication hub that is utilized in the operating room of the live medical procedure.

Example 16

The cloud based analytics medical system of Example 15, wherein the medical devices present in the operating room comprise a manual medical instrument and a robotic medical instrument.

Example 17

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 15-16, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to generate a change in firmware or software of a medical device present in the live medical procedure in concert with the provided alert.

Example 18

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 15-17, wherein the irregularity comprises use of a medical resource in a medical device present in the live medical procedure that is inconsistent with the aggregated medical instrument data pertaining to the medical procedure.

Example 19

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 15-18, wherein the alert comprises an instruction to change a firing or clamping speed of a medical device present in the live medical procedure.

Example 20

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 15-19, wherein the alert comprises an instruction to change an ultrasonic blade length of a medical device present in the live medical procedure.

Various additional aspects of the subject matter described herein are set out in the following numbered examples:

Example 1

A cloud based analytics medical system comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; an input/output interface configured for accessing data from a plurality of medical hub communication devices, each communicatively coupled to at least one surgical instrument; and a database residing in the at least one memory and configured to store the data; the at least one memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to: generate common medical usage patterns of medical devices based on an aggregation of usage data for the medical devices from the plurality of medical hubs; aggregate patient outcome data from the plurality of medical hubs, the patient outcome data comprising: data pertaining to steps performed and corresponding timings for each step in patient procedures; data pertaining to allocation of medical resources used in the patient procedures; for each datum pertaining to the medical resource: location data indicating which medical facility said medical resource was allocated to; and for each datum pertaining to the patient procedure: data indicative of the outcome of the patient procedure; data indicative of a biographical characterization about the patient; and data indicative of a physiologic characterization about the patient; for data indicative of a positive outcome of the patient procedure, determine a biographical characterization or physiologic difference about the patient compared to biographical or physiologic characterization data in common medical usage patterns; determine a customized change in the medical usage pattern of the medical devices for the medical facility associated with the biographical characterization or physiologic difference; and output a recommendation of the customized change to the medical facility associated with the biographical characterization or physiologic difference.

Example 2

The cloud based analytics medical system of Example 1, wherein the customized change comprises a change to a device setting in a medical device.

Example 3

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-2, wherein the customized change comprises a change in orientation to how a medical device is handled during a medical procedure.

Example 4

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-3, wherein the customized change comprises a change of when a medical device is used during a medical procedure.

Example 5

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-4, wherein the customized change comprises a change in a control algorithm of a medical device.

Example 6

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-5, wherein the customized change comprises a substitution of a first medical device for a second medical device during a medical procedure.

Example 7

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-6, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause display of quantitative metrics illustrating an estimate of superior results when the recommended change is adopted.

Example 8

A method of a cloud based analytics medical system for improving medical procedures on an individualized basis, the method comprising: generating, by the cloud based analytics medical system, common medical usage patterns of medical devices based on an aggregation of usage data for the medical devices from a plurality of medical hubs communicatively coupled to the cloud based analytics medical system; aggregating, by the cloud based analytics medical system, patient outcome data from the plurality of medical hubs, the patient outcome data comprising: data pertaining to steps performed and corresponding timings for each step in patient procedures; data pertaining to allocation of medical resources used in the patient procedures; for each datum pertaining to the medical resource: location data indicating which medical facility said medical resource was allocated to; and for each datum pertaining to the patient procedure: data indicative of the outcome of the patient procedure; data indicative of a biographical characterization about the patient; and data indicative of a physiologic characterization about the patient; for data indicative of a positive outcome of the patient procedure, determining, by the cloud based analytics medical system, a biographical characterization or physiologic difference about the patient compared to biographical or physiologic characterization data in common medical usage patterns; determining, by the cloud based analytics medical system, a customized change in the medical usage pattern of the medical devices for the medical facility associated with the biographical characterization or physiologic difference; and outputting, by the cloud based analytics medical system, a recommendation of the customized change to the medical facility associated with the biographical characterization or physiologic difference.

Example 9

The method of Example 8, wherein the customized change comprises a change to a device setting in a medical device.

Example 10

The method of any one of Examples 8-9, wherein the customized change comprises a change in orientation to how a medical device is handled during a medical procedure.

Example 11

The method of any one of Examples 8-10, wherein the customized change comprises a change of when a medical device is used during a medical procedure.

Example 12

The method of any one of Examples 8-11, wherein the customized change comprises a change in a control algorithm of a medical device.

Example 13

The method of any one of Examples 8-12, wherein the customized change comprises a substitution of a first medical device for a second medical device during a medical procedure.

Example 14

The method of any one of Examples 8-13, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cause display of quantitative metrics illustrating an estimate of superior results when the recommended change is adopted.

Example 15

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions executable by at least one processor of a cloud-based analytics system to: generate common medical usage patterns of medical devices based on an aggregation of usage data for the medical devices from a plurality of medical hubs communicatively coupled to the cloud-based analytics system; aggregate patient outcome data from the plurality of medical hubs, the patient outcome data comprising: data pertaining to steps performed and corresponding timings for each step in patient procedures; data pertaining to allocation of medical resources used in the patient procedures; for each datum pertaining to the medical resource: location data indicating which medical facility said medical resource was allocated to; and for each datum pertaining to the patient procedure: data indicative of the outcome of the patient procedure; data indicative of a biographical characterization about the patient; and data indicative of a physiologic characterization about the patient; for data indicative of a positive outcome of the patient procedure, determine a biographical characterization or physiologic difference about the patient compared to biographical or physiologic characterization data in common medical usage patterns; determine a customized change in the medical usage pattern of the medical devices for the medical facility associated with the biographical characterization or physiologic difference; and output a recommendation of the customized change to the medical facility associated with the biographical characterization or physiologic difference.

Example 16

The non-transitory computer readable medium of Example 15, wherein the customized change comprises a change to a device setting in a medical device.

Example 17

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-16, wherein the customized change comprises a change in orientation to how a medical device is handled during a medical procedure.

Example 18

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-17, wherein the customized change comprises a change of when a medical device is used during a medical procedure.

Example 19

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-18, wherein the customized change comprises a change in a control algorithm of a medical device.

Example 20

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 15-19, wherein the customized change comprises a substitution of a first medical device for a second medical device during a medical procedure.

Various additional aspects of the subject matter described herein are set out in the following numbered examples:

Example 1

A cloud based security system for a medical data network, the security system comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory communicatively coupled to the processor; an input/output interface configured for accessing data from a plurality of medical hubs, each communicatively coupled to at least one surgical instrument; and a database residing in the at least one memory and configured to store the data; the at least one memory storing instructions executable by the at least one processor to: identify a first security threat by a first medical instrument communicatively coupled to a first medical hub located at a first medical facility; determine that a second security threat is present at a second medical hub located at a second medical facility, based on at least one common characteristic between the first medical instrument and a second medical instrument communicatively coupled to the second medical hub; and provide an alert to the second medical facility about the second security threat.

Example 2

The cloud based security system of Example 1, wherein identifying the first security threat comprises determining that an identification parameter of the first medical instrument is invalid.

Example 3

The cloud based security system of any of Examples 1-2, wherein identifying the first security threat comprises detecting that the first medical instrument is transmitting a virus.

Example 4

The cloud based security system of any of Examples 1-3, wherein identifying the first security threat comprises determining that the first medical instrument fails an authentication protocol.

Example 5

The cloud based security system of any of Examples 1-4, wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to lock out the first medical instrument from operating with the first medical hub and every other medical hub in the first medical facility.

Example 6

The cloud based security system of claim Examples 1-5, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: analyze alert data associated with the first medical facility, in response to identifying the first security threat; determine an irregularity with the alert data associated with the first medical facility compared to alert data associated with other medical facilities; and determine a revised security procedure for the first medical facility in response to the determined irregularity.

Example 7

The cloud based security system of any of Examples 1-6, wherein the at least one common characteristic comprises a common manufacturer between the first medical device and the second medical device.

Example 8

The cloud based security system of any of Examples 1-7, wherein the at least one common characteristic comprises a first identification parameter of the first medical device and a second identification parameter of the second medical device both within an invalid range.

Example 9

A method of a cloud based security system of a medical data network for improving security and authentication of the medical data network, the medical data network further comprising a plurality of medical hubs each communicatively coupled to the cloud based security system and at least one surgical instrument, the method comprising: identifying, by the cloud based security system, a first security threat by a first medical instrument communicatively coupled to a first medical hub located at a first medical facility; determining, by the cloud based security system, that a second security threat is present at a second medical hub located at a second medical facility, based on at least one common characteristic between the first medical instrument and a second medical instrument communicatively coupled to the second medical hub; and providing, by the cloud based security system, an alert to the second medical facility about the second security threat.

Example 10

The method of Example 9, wherein identifying the first security threat comprises determining that an identification parameter of the first medical instrument is invalid.

Example 11

The method of any of Examples 9-10, wherein identifying the first security threat comprises detecting that the first medical instrument is transmitting a virus.

Example 12

The method of any of Examples 9-11, wherein identifying the first security threat comprises determining that the first medical instrument fails an authentication protocol.

Example 13

The method of any of Examples 9-12, further comprising locking out the first medical instrument from operating with the first medical hub and every other medical hub in the first medical facility.

Example 14

The method of any of Examples 9-13, further comprising: analyzing alert data associated with the first medical facility, in response to identifying the first security threat; determining an irregularity with the alert data associated with the first medical facility compared to alert data associated with other medical facilities; and determining a revised security procedure for the first medical facility in response to the determined irregularity.

Example 15

The method of any of Examples 9-14, wherein the at least one common characteristic comprises a common manufacturer between the first medical device and the second medical device.

Example 16

The method of any of Examples 9-15, wherein the at least one common characteristic comprises a first identification parameter of the first medical device and a second identification parameter of the second medical device both within an invalid range.

Example 17

A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of a cloud based security system of a medical data network, cause the processor to perform operations comprising: identifying a first security threat by a first medical instrument communicatively coupled to a first medical hub located at a first medical facility; determining that a second security threat is present at a second medical hub located at a second medical facility, based on at least one common characteristic between the first medical instrument and a second medical instrument communicatively coupled to the second medical hub; and providing an alert to the second medical facility about the second security threat.

Example 18

The non-transitory computer readable medium of Example 17, wherein identifying the first security threat comprises determining that an identification parameter of the first medical instrument is invalid, detecting that the first medical instrument is transmitting a virus, or determining that the first medical instrument fails an authentication protocol.

Example 19

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any of Examples 17-18, wherein the operations further comprise locking out the first medical instrument from operating with the first medical hub and every other medical hub in the first medical facility.

Example 20

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any of Examples 17-19, wherein the operations further comprise: analyzing alert data associated with the first medical facility, in response to identifying the first security threat; determining an irregularity with the alert data associated with the first medical facility compared to alert data associated with other medical facilities; and determining a revised security procedure for the first medical facility in response to the determined irregularity.

Various additional aspects of the subject matter described herein are set out in the following numbered examples:

Example 1

A cloud based analytics medical system comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; an input/output interface configured for accessing data from a plurality of surgical hubs, each of the plurality of surgical hubs communicatively coupled to at least one surgical instrument and the at least one processor; and a database residing in the at least one memory and configured to store the data; and wherein the at least one memory is configured to store instructions executable by the at least one processor to receive critical data from the plurality of surgical hubs, wherein the plurality of surgical hubs determine critical data based on screening criteria; determine a priority status of the critical data; route the critical data to a cloud storage location residing within the at least one memory; and determine a response to the critical data based on an operational characteristic indicated by the critical data, wherein a time component of the response is determined based on the priority status.

Example 2

The cloud based analytics medical system of Example 1, wherein the screening criteria comprises one or more of: severity, unexpectedness, suspiciousness, and security.

Example 3

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-2, wherein the severity screening criteria comprises an extent of a perioperative device failure and a transition to non-standard post-operation treatment of a patient.

Example 4

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-3, wherein the at least one memory is further configured to store instructions executable by the at least one processor to request the plurality of surgical hubs obtain additional data pertaining to the critical data.

Example 5

The cloud based analytics medical system of Example 4, wherein the at least one memory is further configured to store instructions executable by the at least one processor to request additional data based on a plurality of trigger conditions.

Example 6

The cloud based analytics medical system of Example 5, wherein the plurality of trigger conditions comprise one or more of: exceeding a predetermined unexpectedness threshold, unauthorized modification of the critical data, unsecure communication of data, placement of the at least one surgical instrument on a watch list.

Example 7

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-6, wherein the critical data comprises aggregated data from the plurality of surgical hubs.

Example 8

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 1-7, wherein the at least one processor transmits the critical data to the database.

Example 9

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions executable by the at least one processor of a cloud-based analytics system to: receive critical data from a plurality of surgical hubs, wherein the plurality of surgical hubs determine critical data based on screening criteria and each of the plurality of surgical hubs are communicatively coupled to at least one surgical instrument and the at least one processor; determine a priority status of the critical data; route the critical data to a cloud storage location residing within at least one memory coupled to the at least one processor; and determine a response to the critical data based on an operational characteristic indicated by the critical data, wherein a time component of the response is determined based on the priority status.

Example 10

The non-transitory computer readable medium of Example 9, wherein the priority status is determined by the at least one processor based on one or more of: the critical data corresponds to the at least one surgical instrument placed on a watch list, the critical data corresponds to an automated response; the critical data corresponds to a notification response, the critical data corresponds to an urgent response.

Example 11

The non-transitory computer readable medium of Example 10, wherein the at least one surgical instrument is placed on the watch list based on one or more of: counterfeit products, deviation in surgical instrument performance, and unauthorized usage.

Example 12

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 10-11, wherein the automated response comprises a corrective and preventive action response.

Example 13

The non-transitory computer readable medium of any one of Examples 1-9, wherein the at least one processor stores the critical data in a hold list in the at least one memory and validates the accuracy of the critical data.

Example 14

A cloud based analytics medical system comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; an input/output interface configured for accessing data from a plurality of surgical hubs, each of the plurality of surgical hubs communicatively coupled to at least one surgical instrument and the at least one processor; and a database residing in the at least one memory and configured to store the data; and wherein the at least one memory is configured to store instructions executable by the at least one processor to: receive critical data from the plurality of surgical hubs, wherein the plurality of surgical hubs determine critical data based on screening criteria; determine a priority status of the critical data; route the critical data to a cloud storage location residing within the at least one memory; request the plurality of surgical hubs obtain additional data pertaining to the critical data based on a plurality of trigger conditions; determine the cause of an irregularity corresponding to the critical data and additional data; and determine a response to the irregularity, wherein a time component of the response is determined based on the priority status.

Example 15

The cloud based analytics medical system of Example 14, wherein the at least one processor responds to the irregularity by transmitting a signal to the at least one surgical instrument corresponding to the irregularity, wherein the signal causes an operational lockout of the at least one surgical instrument.

Example 16

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 14-15, wherein the at least one processor requests the plurality of surgical hubs obtain the additional data for a predetermined amount of time.

Example 17

The cloud based analytics medical system of Example 16, wherein the at least one processor requests the plurality of surgical hubs obtain the additional data for the predetermined amount of time based on an occurrence of a predetermined medical event.

Example 18

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 14-17, wherein the at least one processor responds to the irregularity by monitoring patient outcomes corresponding to irregularity for a predetermined amount of time.

Example 19

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 14-18, wherein the at least one processor responds to the irregularity by transmitting a signal to the plurality of surgical hubs corresponding to the irregularity to indicate a corrective action.

Example 20

The cloud based analytics medical system of any one of Examples 14-19, wherein the at least one processor transmits the critical data to the database for aggregation of the critical data, wherein the critical data is classified as corresponding to a positive patient outcome or a negative patient outcome.

Various additional aspects of the subject matter described herein are set out in the following numbered examples:

Example 1

A surgical system, comprising: a surgical hub couplable with a plurality of inventory items of an institution, wherein the plurality of inventory items include medical devices, and wherein the surgical hub comprises: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor to communicate with the plurality of inventory items; and a cloud-based analytics system communicatively coupled to the surgical hub, wherein the cloud-based analytics system comprises: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor to: receive, via the surgical hub, data associated with the plurality of inventory items, wherein the received data comprises a unique identifier for each inventory item; determine whether each inventory item is available for use based on its respective unique identifier and system-defined constraints, wherein the system-defined constraints comprise at least one use restriction; generate a cloud interface for the institution, wherein the institution's cloud interface comprises a plurality of user-interface elements, wherein at least one user-interface element enables selection of one or more than one surgical procedure to be performed, and wherein after selection of a surgical procedure, via the at least one user-interface element, the availability of each inventory item associated with the selected surgical procedure is dynamically generated on the institution's cloud interface; and transmit an alert for each inventory item determined as not available based on the system-defined constraints, wherein the alert is displayable on at least one of the institution's cloud interface or the inventory item.

Example 2

The surgical system of Example 1, wherein the system-defined constraints further comprise a list of unauthorized devices, and wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor of the cloud-based analytics system to: prevent each unauthorized device from being utilized in the surgical system to perform surgical procedures.

Example 3

The surgical system of any one of Examples 1-2, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor of the cloud-based analytics system to: allow an unauthorized device to perform surgical procedures if at least one of the unauthorized device is subject to a usage fee, the unauthorized device is subject to limited functionality, or the unauthorized device is subject to secondary system-defined constraints.

Example 4

The surgical system of any one of Examples 1-3, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor of the surgical hub to communicate wirelessly with the plurality of inventory items.

Example 5

The surgical system of any one of Examples 1-4, wherein the plurality of inventory items further comprises a surgical instrument to perform the selected surgical procedure, wherein the surgical instrument comprises a plurality of modular components, and wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor of the cloud-based analytics system to: determine whether each modular component of the surgical instrument is available for use based on its respective unique identifier and the system-defined constraints.

Example 6

The surgical system of any one of Examples 1-5, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor of the cloud-based analytics system to: determine that a unique identifier, associated with a first modular component of the plurality of modular components, indicates the first modular component as at least one of counterfeit or defective; and transmit an alert displayable on a user interface of the first modular component.

Example 7

The surgical system of any one of Examples 1-6, wherein the cloud-based analytics system further comprises a database, and wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor of the cloud-based analytics system to: update a list of unauthorized devices stored on the database with the unique identifier of the first modular component.

Example 8

The surgical system of any one of Examples 1-7, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor of the cloud-based analytics system to: determine at least one alternative modular component available, based on system-defined constraints, to perform the selected surgical procedure; and transmit an alert displayable on at least one of the institution's cloud interface or the user interface of the first modular component.

Example 9

The surgical system of any one of Examples 1-8, wherein a system-defined constraint comprises an expiration date associated with each modular component of the surgical instrument, and wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor of the cloud-based analytics system to: determine that a first modular component of the surgical instrument has exceeded an expiration date; transmit an alert displayable on a user interface of the first modular component, wherein the alert comprises a warning that the expiration date has been exceeded; and receive an input, via the user interface of the first modular component, to bypass the exceeded expiration date.

Example 10

The surgical system of Example 9, wherein the exceeded expiration date is associated with a control program stored on the first modular component.

Example 11

The surgical system of Example 5, wherein the at least one use restriction comprises a usable life metric associated with each modular component of the surgical instrument, and wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor of the cloud-based analytics system to: access a current usage parameter associated with each modular component of the surgical instrument; determine that a first modular component of the surgical instrument has exceeded its associated usable life metric; and transmit an alert displayable on a user interface of the first modular component.

Example 12

The surgical system of any one of Examples 1-11, further comprising: at least one modular component couplable with the surgical hub, wherein each modular component comprises: a processor; and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory storing instructions executable by the processor to communicate its identifier and at least one of a usage parameter or a usable life metric to the surgical hub.

Example 13

The surgical system of any one of Examples 1-12, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor of each modular component to relay at least one of an identifier, a usage parameter, or a usable life metric received from another modular component to the surgical hub.

Example 14

The surgical system of any one of Examples 1-13, wherein each modular component further comprises a user interface, and wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor of each modular component to: display, via its user interface, an alert transmitted by the cloud-based analytics system, wherein the alert comprises a link associated with a violated system-defined constraint; receive, via its user interface, a selection of the link; receive, via its user interface, a selection to waive a flexible system-defined constraint; and transmit the selection to waive the flexible system-defined constraint to the cloud-based analytics system.

Example 15

A surgical system, comprising: a surgical hub couplable with a plurality of inventory items of an institution, wherein the plurality of inventory items include medical devices, and wherein the surgical hub comprises a control circuit configured to communicate with the plurality of inventory items; and a cloud-based analytics system communicatively coupled to the surgical hub, wherein the cloud-based analytics system comprises a control circuit configured to: receive, via the surgical hub, data associated with the plurality of inventory items, wherein the received data comprises a unique identifier for each inventory item; determine whether each inventory item is available for use based on its respective unique identifier and system-defined constraints, wherein the system-defined constraints comprise at least one use restriction; generate a cloud interface for the institution, wherein the institution's cloud interface comprises a plurality of user-interface elements, wherein at least one user-interface element enables selection of one or more than one surgical procedure to be performed, and wherein after selection of a surgical procedure, via the at least one user-interface element, the availability of each inventory item associated with the selected surgical procedure is dynamically generated on the institution's cloud interface; and transmit an alert for each inventory item determined as not available based on the system-defined constraints, wherein the alert is displayable on at least one of the institution's cloud interface or the inventory item.

Example 16

The surgical system of Example 15, wherein the system-defined constraints further comprise a list of unauthorized devices, and wherein the control circuit of the cloud-based analytics system is further configured to: prevent each unauthorized device from being utilized in the surgical system to perform surgical procedures; or allow an unauthorized device to perform surgical procedures if at least one of the unauthorized device is subject to a usage fee, the unauthorized device is subject to limited functionality, or the unauthorized device is subject to secondary system-defined constraints.

Example 17

The surgical system of any one of Examples 15-16, wherein the plurality of inventory items further comprises a surgical instrument to perform the selected surgical procedure, wherein the surgical instrument comprises a plurality of modular components, and wherein the control circuit of the cloud-based analytics system is further configured to: determine whether each modular component of the surgical instrument is available for use based on its respective unique identifier and the system-defined constraints.

Example 18

The surgical system of any one of Examples 15-17, further comprising: at least one modular component couplable with the surgical hub, wherein each modular component comprises a control circuit configured to communicate its identifier and at least one of a usage parameter or a usable life metric to the surgical hub.

Example 19

The surgical system of any one of Examples 15-18, wherein each modular component further comprises a user interface, and wherein the control circuit of each modular component is further configured to: display, via its user interface, an alert transmitted by the cloud-based analytics system, wherein the alert comprises a link associated with a violated system-defined constraint; receive, via its user interface, a selection of the link; receive, via its user interface, a selection to waive a flexible system-defined constraint; and transmit the selection to waive the flexible system-defined constraint to the cloud-based analytics system.

Example 20

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer readable instructions which, when executed, causes a cloud-based analytics system to: receive, via a surgical hub, data associated with a plurality of inventory items of an institution, wherein the plurality of inventory items include medical devices, wherein the received data comprises a unique identifier for each inventory item, and wherein each unique identifier is received by the surgical hub in a communication with each inventory item; determine whether each inventory item is available for use based on its respective unique identifier and system-defined constraints, wherein the system-defined constraints comprise at least one use restriction; generate a cloud interface for the institution, wherein the institution's cloud interface comprises a plurality of user-interface elements, wherein at least one user-interface element enables selection of one or more than one surgical procedure to be performed, and wherein after selection of a surgical procedure, via the at least one user-interface element, the availability of each inventory item associated with the selected surgical procedure is dynamically generated on the institution's cloud interface; and transmit an alert for each inventory item determined as not available based on the system-defined constraints, wherein the alert is displayable on at least one of the institution's cloud interface or the inventory item.

While several forms have been illustrated and described, it is not the intention of the applicant to restrict or limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Numerous modifications, variations, changes, substitutions, combinations, and equivalents to those forms may be implemented and will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, the structure of each element associated with the described forms can be alternatively described as a means for providing the function performed by the element. Also, where materials are disclosed for certain components, other materials may be used. It is therefore to be understood that the foregoing description and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, combinations, and variations as falling within the scope of the disclosed forms. The appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, variations, changes, substitutions, modifications, and equivalents.

The foregoing detailed description has set forth various forms of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those within the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. Those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the forms disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skilled in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of being distributed as one or more program products in a variety of forms and that an illustrative form of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal-bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution.

Instructions used to program logic to perform various disclosed aspects can be stored within a memory in the system, such as DRAM, cache, flash memory, or other storage. Furthermore, the instructions can be distributed via a network or by way of other computer-readable media. Thus a machine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer), but is not limited to, floppy diskettes, optical disks, CD-ROMs, magneto-optical disks, ROM, RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, magnetic or optical cards, flash memory, or tangible, machine-readable storage used in the transmission of information over the Internet via electrical, optical, acoustical, or other forms of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals). Accordingly, the non-transitory computer-readable medium includes any type of tangible machine-readable medium suitable for storing or transmitting electronic instructions or information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer).

As used in any aspect herein, the term “control circuit” may refer to, for example, hardwired circuitry, programmable circuitry (e.g., a computer processor comprising one or more individual instruction processing cores, processing unit, processor, microcontroller, microcontroller unit, controller, DSP, PLD, programmable logic array (PLA), or FPGA), state machine circuitry, firmware that stores instructions executed by programmable circuitry, and any combination thereof. The control circuit may, collectively or individually, be embodied as circuitry that forms part of a larger system, for example, an integrated circuit, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system on-chip (SoC), desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, servers, smart phones, etc. Accordingly, as used herein, “control circuit” includes, but is not limited to, electrical circuitry having at least one discrete electrical circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one integrated circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one application-specific integrated circuit, electrical circuitry forming a general-purpose computing device configured by a computer program (e.g., a general-purpose computer configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein, or a microprocessor configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein), electrical circuitry forming a memory device (e.g., forms of random access memory), and/or electrical circuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem, communications switch, or optical-electrical equipment). Those having skill in the art will recognize that the subject matter described herein may be implemented in an analog or digital fashion or some combination thereof.

As used in any aspect herein, the term “logic” may refer to an app, software, firmware, and/or circuitry configured to perform any of the aforementioned operations. Software may be embodied as a software package, code, instructions, instruction sets, and/or data recorded on non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. Firmware may be embodied as code, instructions, instruction sets, and/or data that are hard-coded (e.g., non-volatile) in memory devices.

As used in any aspect herein, the terms “component,” “system,” “module,” and the like can refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution.

As used in any aspect herein, an “algorithm” refers to a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result, where a “step” refers to a manipulation of physical quantities and/or logic states which may, though need not necessarily, take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It is common usage to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. These and similar terms may be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities and/or states.

A network may include a packet-switched network. The communication devices may be capable of communicating with each other using a selected packet-switched network communications protocol. One example communications protocol may include an Ethernet communications protocol which may be capable permitting communication using a Transmission Control Protocol/IP. The Ethernet protocol may comply or be compatible with the Ethernet standard published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) titled “IEEE 802.3 Standard,” published in December 2008 and/or later versions of this standard. Alternatively or additionally, the communication devices may be capable of communicating with each other using an X.25 communications protocol. The X.25 communications protocol may comply or be compatible with a standard promulgated by the International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T). Alternatively or additionally, the communication devices may be capable of communicating with each other using a frame relay communications protocol. The frame relay communications protocol may comply or be compatible with a standard promulgated by Consultative Committee for International Telegraph and Telephone (CCITT) and/or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Alternatively or additionally, the transceivers may be capable of communicating with each other using an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) communications protocol. The ATM communications protocol may comply or be compatible with an ATM standard published by the ATM Forum, titled “ATM-MPLS Network Interworking 2.0,” published August 2001, and/or later versions of this standard. Of course, different and/or after-developed connection-oriented network communication protocols are equally contemplated herein.

Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the foregoing disclosure, it is appreciated that, throughout the foregoing disclosure, discussions using terms such as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “displaying,” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission, or display devices.

One or more components may be referred to herein as “configured to,” “configurable to,” “operable/operative to,” “adapted/adaptable,” “able to,” “conformable/conformed to,” etc. Those skilled in the art will recognize that “configured to” can generally encompass active-state components, inactive-state components, and/or standby-state components, unless context requires otherwise.

The terms “proximal” and “distal” are used herein with reference to a clinician manipulating the handle portion of the surgical instrument. The term “proximal” refers to the portion closest to the clinician, and the term “distal” refers to the portion located away from the clinician. It will be further appreciated that, for convenience and clarity, spatial terms such as “vertical,” “horizontal,” “up,” and “down” may be used herein with respect to the drawings. However, surgical instruments are used in many orientations and positions, and these terms are not intended to be limiting and/or absolute.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims), are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including, but not limited to”; the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least”; the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes, but is not limited to”). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation, no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to claims containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations.

In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general, such a construction is intended in the sense that one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include, but not be limited to, systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general, such a construction is intended in the sense that one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include, but not be limited to, systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together). It will be further understood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms, unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art will appreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed in any order. Also, although various operational flow diagrams are presented in a sequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may be performed in other orders than those which are illustrated or may be performed concurrently. Examples of such alternate orderings may include overlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental, preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variant orderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like “responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives are generally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictates otherwise.

It is worthy to note that any reference to “one aspect,” “an aspect,” “an exemplification,” “one exemplification,” and the like means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the aspect is included in at least one aspect. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one aspect,” “in an aspect,” “in an exemplification,” and “in one exemplification” in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same aspect. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more aspects.

Any patent application, patent, non-patent publication, or other disclosure material referred to in this specification and/or listed in any Application Data Sheet is incorporated by reference herein, to the extent that the incorporated materials are not inconsistent herewith. As such, and to the extent necessary, the disclosure as explicitly set forth herein supersedes any conflicting material incorporated herein by reference. Any material, or portion thereof, that is said to be incorporated by reference herein but which conflicts with existing definitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth herein will only be incorporated to the extent that no conflict arises between that incorporated material and the existing disclosure material.

In summary, numerous benefits have been described which result from employing the concepts described herein. The foregoing description of the one or more forms has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting to the precise form disclosed. Modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The one or more forms were chosen and described in order to illustrate principles and practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the various forms and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the claims submitted herewith define the overall scope. 

1. A method of improving an operational parameter of a surgical system using data analytics, the method comprising: transmitting, from each of a plurality of surgical hubs of the surgical system, operational data of a plurality of surgical instruments communicatively coupled to the plurality of surgical hubs, to a cloud computing system of the surgical system; aggregating, by the cloud computing system, the operational data into aggregate medical resource data; analyzing, by the cloud computing system, the aggregate medical resource data to determine a recommendation to change the operational parameter based on the analyzed aggregate medical resource data, wherein the aggregate medical resource data comprises one or more of usage data, patient derived parameter data, surgical performance data, and surgical outcome data; receiving, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation from the cloud computing system; and displaying, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the recommendation comprises changing a type of staple to be used by the plurality of surgical instruments.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the cloud computing system, an estimated cost of a surgical procedure based on the analyzed aggregate medical resource data, wherein the recommendation comprises a recommended surgical instrument of the plurality of surgical instruments to perform the surgical procedure.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: detecting, by the cloud computing system, an irregularity in a configuration of the surgical system; and generating, by the cloud computing system, an alert based on the detected irregularity, indicating that a selected surgical instrument of the plurality of surgical instruments is incompatible with a surgical procedure being performed.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: performing, by the cloud computing system, statistical analysis on the aggregate medical resource data to determine a flaw in a subset of the plurality of surgical instruments.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the flaw comprises a local outlier corresponding to the subset of the plurality of surgical instruments.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining, by the cloud computing system, an adjustment to post-operative care based on the analysis of the aggregate medical resource data.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the aggregate medical resource data comprises surgical outcome data and wherein the recommendation comprises a recommended type of component to use with a surgical instrument of the plurality of surgical instruments.
 9. A method of controlling a surgical system using data analytics, the method comprising: transmitting, from each of a plurality of surgical hubs of the surgical system, operational data of a plurality of surgical instruments communicatively coupled to the plurality of surgical hubs to a cloud computing system of the surgical system; aggregating, by the cloud computing system, the operational data into aggregate medical resource data; analyzing, by the cloud computing system, the aggregate medical resource data, wherein the aggregate medical resource data comprises one or more of usage data, patient derived parameter data, surgical performance data, and surgical outcome data; generating, by the cloud computing system, an update to a control program executed by one or more of the plurality of surgical hubs and the plurality of surgical instruments based on the analyzed aggregated medical resource data; and receiving, by one or more of the plurality of surgical hubs and the plurality of surgical instruments, the update to the control program.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the aggregate medical resource data comprises patient derived parameter data and the patient derived parameter data comprises a tissue parameter.
 11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: comparing, by the cloud computing system, the aggregate medical resource data to a predetermined threshold, wherein the aggregate medical resource data comprises surgical outcome data; and determining, by the cloud computing system, a performance level of the plurality of surgical instruments executing the control program.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein: the surgical outcome data comprises a rate of positive surgical outcomes; comparing the aggregate medical resource data to the predetermined threshold comprises comparing the rate of positive surgical outcomes to the predetermined threshold.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the update to the control program is generated based on the determined performance level.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein the update to the control program specifies a wait time during performance of surgical procedures by the plurality of surgical instruments.
 15. The method of claim 9, wherein the update to the control program controls operations of the plurality of surgical hubs.
 16. A method of controlling a surgical system using data analytics, the method comprising: transmitting, from each of a plurality of surgical hubs of the surgical system, operational data of a plurality of surgical instruments communicatively coupled to the plurality of surgical hubs to a cloud computing system of the surgical system; aggregating, by the cloud computing system, the operational data into aggregate medical resource data; determining, by the cloud computing system, a level of criticality of the aggregate medical resource data; analyzing, by the cloud computing system, the aggregate medical resource data to determine a recommended action based on the analyzed aggregate medical resource data and the level of criticality; determining, a priority of the recommended action based on the level of criticality; receiving, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation from the cloud computing system; and displaying, by the plurality of surgical hubs, the recommendation.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the level of criticality is determined based on one or more of severity, deviation from an expected result, and suspiciousness.
 18. The method of claim 16, further comprising: determining, by the cloud computing system, a security breach based on the analyzed aggregate medical resource data.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: determining, by the cloud computing system, a subset of the plurality of surgical instruments that are impacted by the security breach.
 20. The method of claim 19, further comprising: transmitting, by the cloud computing system, a signal indicating the subset to the plurality of surgical hubs; and preventing, by the plurality of surgical hubs, operation of the surgical instruments corresponding to the subset. 